In March 2013,

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

announced that it was developing a family of membranes made from

graphene Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.

, under the trademark Perforene. The most promising application is seawater

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

. With holes as small as one nanometer in diameter, the membranes would trap sodium, chlorine and other ions, while allowing water molecules to pass through easily.Performance expectations (relative to the use of

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pre ...

membranes) include: * Up to 5x increase in flux across the membrane * Fouling reduction of up to 80% * Approximately 100x less energy and pressure required. (This claim was reported by Reuters. Lockheed Martin's current product datasheet predicts a more modest reduction in energy consumption: 10 - 20%.) In addition to the desalination industry, Lockheed Martin plans to market Perforene variants in the following fields: * Waste water treatment * Pharmaceutical material harvest and purification * Energy/power generation * Mining * Food and beverage * Manufacturing The product was not expected to be released until 2020.

Media reaction

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

commented for Wired, "if this graphene vaporware actually worked out in practice, we’d have to forgive Lockheed Martin for everything else they’ve ever done — plus maybe even give them Nobels and McMansion palaces in former deserts." The Water Desalination Report evaluated Lockheed Martin's claims that it had developed a membrane that will desalinate water “at a fraction of the cost of industry-standard RO systems” as "ridiculous and very premature."{{cite web, title=Graphene membrane technology update, url=https://www.desalination.com/articles/graphene-membrane-technology-update, publisher=Media Analytics Ltd, accessdate=25 November 2016

References

External links

Descaling Systems & Water Softeners
Environmental issues with water Filters Fresh water Lockheed Martin Water supply Water treatment Water desalination Water technology Membrane technology Graphene