Desalination is playing an increasingly important role in supplying freshwater to communities around the world. Today, however, the cost of desalinating ocean water continues to exceed the costs of conventional treatment of surface or groundwater as a drinking water source.

A great deal of research is focused on reducing this cost and making this a more practical option for people in both the developed and developing world. In this project, a membrane and resin desalination system is being designed, constructed, and tested targeting a reduction in power consumption required to desalinate ocean water.

This work is funded by a grant from Marquette University’s Innovation Fund.

The student team carrying out the research includes Emmanuel Kayiwa (project PI), Matt Vitello, and Alex Zucca, and the project is being conducted on Marquette’s campus as well as at the Global Water Center.

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