Tellurium is playing a role in alleviating the growing water crisis

According to the International Resource Panel (IRP), almost half the world’s population will suffer severe water stress by 2030. Titled Options for Decoupling Economic Growth from Water Use and Water Pollution, the IRP report claims that as the global population continues to rise, increased urbanization, climate change and a shift in how food is consumed are likely to dramatically increase future demand for water.

For those living with easy access to clean, fresh water, such omens may seem like an abstract concept. However, the World Health Organization reports that about three in ten people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, already lack access to safe, readily available water in their homes.

What are the possible solutions? Better use of our water, along with technology, provide some hope for solving or at least moderating some of our fresh water shortages.

Over half the expense of operating desalination plants come from energy, a roadblock that makes the technology prohibitively expensive for many regions. However, researchers recently reported a possible breakthrough for the energy issue, claiming that tellurium nanoparticles could dramatically increase the efficiency of desalination and reduce the energy required for the process by a factor of 10.

Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in China used tellurium nanoparticles to boost evaporation by a factor of three under solar radiation. This process made it possible to increase the water temperature from 29 degrees to 85 degrees Celsius within 100 seconds. “These findings suggest that the Te nanoparticle can be expected to be an advanced photothermal conversion material for solar-enabled water evaporation,” said the researchers, requiring one-tenth the energy of current methods.

If tellurium is to provide a solution, where do we get it? Roughly 90% of the world’s tellurium today comes from copper refining. However, as noted recently by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shifts in the way copper is refined mean that tellurium consumers are examining alternative sources, including primary tellurium deposits in stable political jurisdictions.

Product recommendation : Tellurium

Changsha SANTECH provides Tellurium Metal Ingot, Tellurium Metal Granule, Tellurium Metal Powder, Tellurium Dioxide Powder, etc. Please email us if you are interested in our products. Thank you!