Egyptian researchers develop affordable and energy-saving desalination technology Researchers at the Alexandria University in Egypt have developed a new desalination technology that can produce potable water at reduced energy.

Titled as 'Desalination of simulated seawater by purge-air pervaporation using an innovative fabricated membrane', the research paper had been published in Water Science and Technology.

The new technology uses the method called 'pervaporation' for removal of salt from water with minimal power usage.

Under the process, the untreated water is first filtered though a membrane to remove larger particles.

The filtered water is then vapourised under heat as the second step for purification. The vapour is thereafter condensed to produce pure water for drinking purposes.

The filter, which is made of cellulose acetate powder and other components, has been designed to bind the salt particles as they pass through the membrane.

Developed by University of Alexandria researchers Mona Naim, Mahmoud Elewa, Ahmed El-Shafei and Abeer Moneer, the membrane can be made from local materials under a laboratory setting. This makes the process affordable too.

The technology is effective for water having high saline content as well as for water contaminated with sewage and/or dirt, the research paper said.

Alexandria University agricultural and biosystems engineering associate professor Ahmed El-Shafei was quoted by Yahoo News as saying: "Using pervaporation eliminates the need for electricity that is used in classic desalination processes, thus cutting costs significantly."

Further research is likely to be carried out by the team for scaling up production of the saline-removing membrane and to make it suitable for individual use across water treatment plants.

The research team from Egypt is also working on a pilot desalination unit for testing the method on a larger scale.