Battery Turns Saltwater Into Drinking Water

An anonymous reader writes "German researchers have developed a battery that can remove sodium and chloride ions from seawater. In theory, their invention could be far more energy efficient than thermal desalination or reverse osmosis. This would cut the cost of using salt water for drinking or irrigation. It could also be used to make compact desalination systems for boats and life rafts, or crops. Each battery is made with manganese oxide nanorod electrodes, which absorb sodium when an electrical current passes through them. When the current is reversed, they dump the sodium ions out into waste water."

Comments

Re:How much energy?

[mcgrew]

Water is finite

No it isn't. In an infinite universe, nothing is finite. Water on earth is finite, even if there is an enormously huge amount of it. But water isn't used up; there is as much water as there ever was. The trouble is its management, not its quantity.