November 12, 2015 at 21:13Expanding the potential of nanotechnologies in the sphere of access to clean water
Dr. Francois Gray
CNNM, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China City Cybernetics Center, Geneva, Switzerland
July 6, 2015
Short summary
The Pure Water calculation team found that water can pass through the thinnest nanotubes much more freely than previously thought. This innovative understanding of fundamental physical processes can serve to increase the availability of pure water for millions, through more efficient methods of filtration and desalination. Also, it is possible to apply in the fields of medical and clean energy. This discovery has already been published in Nature Nanotechnology, the most respected journal on natotechnology.
Visualization was created by volunteers to study the interaction of water and carbon nanotubes. Pure water is the basis of life, now, millions of people around the world will experience its lack. Our team discovered a phenomenon that could be an important step forward on the way to obtaining clean water for all those in need. Today, about a million people die every year due to poor-quality water, along with this, the population is growing, the climate is changing and the problem will worsen. Existing road systems and those in need are often unavailable. Studies called "Calculations" Pure Water "can change the situation. And this astounding find was recently published in the leading journal on nanotechnology, Nature Nanotechnology.
Basically, this discovery addresses the question: “How can we potentially, i.e. as efficiently as possible at a lower cost, use carbon nanotubes to create water filters. ” Carbon nanotubes create sheets one atom thick, called graphene, twisted into thin tubes, several nanometers in diameter (about one ten thousandth of a human hair’s diameter). This diameter of the tubes allows water molecules to pass through them and retain large particles and microorganisms during water filtration. They are so small that the scientific community has suggested that water will go through them too slowly for practical reconciliation. However, early experiments showed that water sometimes passes through much easier than expected.
Increasing the flow may mean a more efficient filter, but due to the lack of sufficient computing power, so far, there has been a large gap between what scientists can understand through computer simulation and what can be obtained in real conditions. Researchers at this project have focused on eliminating this shortcoming. Through distributed computing using the World Community Grid network, it was possible to discover that certain types of natural vibrations called phonon vibrations , under certain conditions, can lead to a 300% increase in the degree of diffusion ( we can say the flow) water through carbon nanotubes, which is comparable with previous theoretical calculations. It is especially important that with small vibration there is a natural release of thermal energy, naturally found in all materials, therefore, there is no need for external energy sources to take advantage of this phenomenon.
What can this discovery indicate in future research? A direct application in using the new ideas of this practical modeling is the development of effective water filters. If experiments confirm the assumptions, such filters can help increase the availability of clean water to millions of people around the world. It is also possible to obtain cheaper ways to obtain fresh water (in particular, from sea).
Using this nanoscale phenomenon will create membranes and filters that will revolutionize many processes and even industries related to water or, in general, liquids. For example, this discovery will allow the delivery of medicines through thin channels through the walls of a living cell. In the future, this may be applicable to prove the process of producing clean energy by mixing pure and salt water, known as osmotic power plants.
We managed to discover these various opportunities only thanks to the volunteers, because no research team ever had so much necessary computing power to run such a detailed simulation to study the flow conditions in real filters. Partners of the World Community Grid and more than 150,000 volunteers took part in this project, where they managed to simulate a water stream with details not yet available, where phenomena that were not found at the previous stages of the study were discovered.
Computing for Clean Water Team Members: Zhiping Xu, Ming Ma Quanshui Zheng and Francois Gray
This work, the result of global collaboration between researchers from China, Switzerland, Israel, the UK and Australia. Thanks to all the participants. This project, completed in a couple of years, would take about 40,000 computational years if it were calculated on one computer. On behalf of the team, I want to thank all the volunteers who took part in these studies. This achievement also belongs to them.
Learn more and join the World Community Grid at the following discoveries:
IBM Press Release
' Water transport inside carbon nanotubes mediated by phonon-induced oscillating friction ' paper, published in Nature Nanotechnology
CNNM, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China City Cybernetics Center, Geneva, Switzerland
July 6, 2015
Short summary
The Pure Water calculation team found that water can pass through the thinnest nanotubes much more freely than previously thought. This innovative understanding of fundamental physical processes can serve to increase the availability of pure water for millions, through more efficient methods of filtration and desalination. Also, it is possible to apply in the fields of medical and clean energy. This discovery has already been published in Nature Nanotechnology, the most respected journal on natotechnology.
Visualization was created by volunteers to study the interaction of water and carbon nanotubes. Pure water is the basis of life, now, millions of people around the world will experience its lack. Our team discovered a phenomenon that could be an important step forward on the way to obtaining clean water for all those in need. Today, about a million people die every year due to poor-quality water, along with this, the population is growing, the climate is changing and the problem will worsen. Existing road systems and those in need are often unavailable. Studies called "Calculations" Pure Water "can change the situation. And this astounding find was recently published in the leading journal on nanotechnology, Nature Nanotechnology.
Basically, this discovery addresses the question: “How can we potentially, i.e. as efficiently as possible at a lower cost, use carbon nanotubes to create water filters. ” Carbon nanotubes create sheets one atom thick, called graphene, twisted into thin tubes, several nanometers in diameter (about one ten thousandth of a human hair’s diameter). This diameter of the tubes allows water molecules to pass through them and retain large particles and microorganisms during water filtration. They are so small that the scientific community has suggested that water will go through them too slowly for practical reconciliation. However, early experiments showed that water sometimes passes through much easier than expected.
Increasing the flow may mean a more efficient filter, but due to the lack of sufficient computing power, so far, there has been a large gap between what scientists can understand through computer simulation and what can be obtained in real conditions. Researchers at this project have focused on eliminating this shortcoming. Through distributed computing using the World Community Grid network, it was possible to discover that certain types of natural vibrations called phonon vibrations , under certain conditions, can lead to a 300% increase in the degree of diffusion ( we can say the flow) water through carbon nanotubes, which is comparable with previous theoretical calculations. It is especially important that with small vibration there is a natural release of thermal energy, naturally found in all materials, therefore, there is no need for external energy sources to take advantage of this phenomenon.
What can this discovery indicate in future research? A direct application in using the new ideas of this practical modeling is the development of effective water filters. If experiments confirm the assumptions, such filters can help increase the availability of clean water to millions of people around the world. It is also possible to obtain cheaper ways to obtain fresh water (in particular, from sea).
Using this nanoscale phenomenon will create membranes and filters that will revolutionize many processes and even industries related to water or, in general, liquids. For example, this discovery will allow the delivery of medicines through thin channels through the walls of a living cell. In the future, this may be applicable to prove the process of producing clean energy by mixing pure and salt water, known as osmotic power plants.
We managed to discover these various opportunities only thanks to the volunteers, because no research team ever had so much necessary computing power to run such a detailed simulation to study the flow conditions in real filters. Partners of the World Community Grid and more than 150,000 volunteers took part in this project, where they managed to simulate a water stream with details not yet available, where phenomena that were not found at the previous stages of the study were discovered.
Computing for Clean Water Team Members: Zhiping Xu, Ming Ma Quanshui Zheng and Francois Gray
This work, the result of global collaboration between researchers from China, Switzerland, Israel, the UK and Australia. Thanks to all the participants. This project, completed in a couple of years, would take about 40,000 computational years if it were calculated on one computer. On behalf of the team, I want to thank all the volunteers who took part in these studies. This achievement also belongs to them.
Learn more and join the World Community Grid at the following discoveries:
IBM Press Release
' Water transport inside carbon nanotubes mediated by phonon-induced oscillating friction ' paper, published in Nature Nanotechnology