Water Management with Membrane Permeation Using Light Energy

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  • FUJIWARA Masahiro
    National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology（RICPT; Tohoku Center）

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  • 光エネルギーを用いた膜透過による水処理

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Abstract

The conversion of light energy, especially solar energy, into other forms is an essential technology in modern science. This report describes our studies on the applications of light energy to mass transfer, water vaporization and seawater desalination. The photo isomerization of azobenzene compound is a powerful approach for transforming light energy. When UV and visible light that induce the molecular motion of azobenzene group by repetitive photo isomerization are irradiated to porous material with modified azobenzene compound, the release of molecules and the flow of solvents are accelerated. Irradiation of UV and visible light to water on azobenzene modified anodized alumina membrane produces the permeation of the water through the membrane. As this membrane permeation of water is caused from the evaporation of the water by repetitive isomerization of azobenzene, the purification and desalination of water are achieved by a distillation effect. Seawater desalination is also achieved using dye modified hydrophobic PTFE membranes under the irradiation of simulated sunlight. This process provides a freshwater production method from seawater only using solar energy without the consumption of fossil fuels, contributing to a sustainable solution for global water shortage.

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