Capillary-driven desalination in a synthetic mangrove

Science Advances
Yunkun WangMenachem Elimelech

Abstract

According to the cohesion-tension theory, mangrove trees desalinate salty water using highly negative pressure (or tension) that is generated by evaporative capillary forces in mangrove leaves. Here, we demonstrate a synthetic mangrove that mimics the main features of the natural mangrove: capillary pumping (leaves), stable water conduction in highly metastable states (stem), and membrane desalination (root). When using nanoporous membranes as leaves, the maximum osmotic pressures of saline feeds (10 to 30 bar) allowing pure water uptake precisely correspond to expected capillary pressures based on the Young-Laplace equation. Hydrogel-based leaves allow for stable operation and desalination of hypersaline solutions with osmotic pressures approaching 400 bar, fivefold greater than the pressure limits of conventional reverse osmosis. Our findings support the applicability of the cohesion-tension theory to desalination in mangroves, provide a new platform to study plant hydraulics, and create possibilities for engineered membrane separations using large, passively generated capillary pressures.

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Citations

Apr 1, 2021·Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering·Marc-Olivier Coppens
Jul 20, 2021·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Lee ShoolEli Sloutskin
Dec 1, 2020·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Xin Min, Woo Soo Kim
Dec 1, 2020·ACS Nano·Masoumeh NazariHadi Ghasemi

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
scanning electron microscopy

Software Mentioned

OLI
ImageJ

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