Iranian researchers invent new method to treat oily wastewater, desalinate water

Researchers at Iran’s prestigious Amirkabir University of Technology have introduced a cost-effective method for treating oily wastewater by using thermodynamic analysis and evaluation of copolymer membrane performance, according to Tasnim News Agency.

Afshin Hamta, a doctoral graduate at Amirkabir University of Technology and lead researcher of the project, entitled “The thermodynamic study and evaluation of the performance of poly(styrene-acrylonitrile) copolymer membrane”, stated, “Lack of drinking water in the past decade can be considered one of the most important issues in today’s world, which if ignored, can turn into a serious risk and become a major crisis in the near future.”

He added, “At the same time, due to the population growth as well as rising living standards, the need for fresh water is increasing all over the planet. Therefore, finding new methods of water desalination will be of particular importance.”

The copolymers are also used in the construction of membranes, which are very successful in desalination of water.

According to the researcher, so far many methods have been introduced for water purification, each of them with advantages and disadvantages, but in this project, “We managed to use copolymers in the construction of membranes, which are very successful in desalination of salt water.”