Novel Desalination Methods

Evelyn Wang ’00, Faculty

An estimated one billion people lack access to fresh water. Wang, who is the Gail E. Kendall Professor, is one of numerous MIT researchers developing novel, cost-effective, energy-efficient desalination methods for making ocean and brackish waters potable. One of Wang’s techniques uses filters with synthetic zeolite crystals made of aluminum, silicon, and oxygen to capture the salt crystals in water. Another captures salt ions as water flows between two electrically conductive surfaces.