Products of Tomorrow: September 2021

Water-sensing smartphone screens, a NASA-developed RF switch, and an ultrasound patch.

Standard Water Treatment Eliminates Enveloped Viruses Including Coronavirus

This treatment has the potential to remove from drinking water nearly all viruses that have an “outer fortress.”

Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery

The solution increases water recovery, prevents mineral scaling, and cuts the volume of brines in half.

Desalination Process Removes Toxic Metals

The desalination method produces clean water while, at the same time, potentially capturing valuable metals such as gold.

Filters from Tree Branches Purify Drinking Water

Prototypes show promise as a low-cost, natural filtration option.

Products of Tomorrow: July 2021

Battery recycling, NASA's water treatment, and a wireless wearable transmitter.

5 Ws of the Sunlight-Powered Water Filter

The invention could help solve the problem of providing clean water off the grid or where low-cost, non-powered water purification is needed.

Products of Tomorrow: June 2021

Head-up displays, health-monitoring sensors from NASA, and a pollen sponge.

Smart Aerogel Turns Air into Drinking Water

This invention achieves sustainable freshwater production in a variety of climates at minimal energy cost.

Generating Renewable Hydrogen Fuel from the Sea

Membranes that remove salt from water help split sea water into fuel.

Material Advances for LED Quantum Dot Efficiency

Creating next-generation LEDs for novel efforts like COVID-19 decontamination requires LED manufacturers to reevaluate the materials that they’re using.

Facility Focus: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

In 2020, the EPA marks 50 years of preparing for, responding to, preventing, and mitigating natural and manmade disasters.

Wireless Aquatic Robot Cleans Water

Inspired by a coral polyp, this plastic mini robot moves by magnetism and light.

Smart Sponge for Environmental Remediation

This highly porous sponge absorbs more than 30 times its weight in oil and can be reused up to several dozen times.

Portable Tool Analyzes Microbes in the Environment

This device could be used to find threats to ecosystems.

Q&A: Simple Solar-Powered Desalination

Lenan Zhang and his team at MIT developed a small, economical, highly efficient device to provide fresh drinking water using only the Sun for its energy input.

Products of Tomorrow: February 2020

Life-saving sensors, soft hearing implants, and a new water-decontamination method

Smartphone System Tests for Lead in Water

This inexpensive system can detect lead levels below EPA standards.

Process Turns Sand and Plant Materials into a Water Filtration Tool

According to the United Nations, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and the majority live in developing nations. A process was...

2019 'Create the Future' Sustainable Technologies Category Winner: Wave-Powered Water Desalination

Learn about the world's first wave-driven desalination system.

Rose-Inspired Device Collects and Purifies Water

A new device, inspired by a rose, inexpensively collects and purifies water. The device is a new approach to solar steaming for water production — a technique that uses energy from sunlight...

Device Simplifies Measurement of Fluoride Contamination in Water

Adding fluoride to water has been common practice in a number of countries including the U.S. In low concentrations (below 1.5 mg/L), fluoride can help prevent tooth decay and...

New Imaging Method Aids in Water Decontamination

A breakthrough imaging technique developed by Cornell researchers shows promise in decontaminating water by yielding surprising and important information about catalyst particles that can't be...

Products of Tomorrow: August 2019

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...

Researchers Create Smartphone System to Test for Lead in Water

Researchers at the University of Houston have created an inexpensive system that can detect lead in tap water at levels commonly accepted as dangerous, using a lens made with an...

Products of Tomorrow: April 2019

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...