IIT-Madras researchers extract clean water using gas hydrates from wastewater
IIT-Madras researchers have come up with a clever way to treat industrial wastewater, using gas hydrates to pull out clean water, without all the usual energy-hungry steps like filtration or centrifugation.
This could make cleaning up factory waste both simpler and greener.
Process recovers over 65% water
Their process mixes propane and HFC-134a into wastewater, causing water molecules to form solid crystals while leaving behind most of the bad stuff (like salts and ammonia).
In tests with real petrochemical waste, they recovered more than 65% of the water and removed up to 93% of contaminants.
Plus, it uses less energy than many current methods and cuts carbon emissions by up to 70%.
The tech is ready for pilot runs in industries like textiles and pharma, so it might not be long before cleaner water becomes the norm.