Dirty to drinkable: Novel hybrid nanomaterials quickly transform water

A team of engineers has found a way to use graphene oxide sheets to transform dirty water into drinking water, and it could be a global game-changer. Graphene oxide has been hailed as a veritable wonder material; when incorporated into nanocellulose foam, the lab-created substance is light, strong and flexible, conducting heat and electricity quickly and efficiently. The new approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam.  "The process is extremely simple," Singamaneni said. "The beauty is that the nanoscale cellulose fiber network produced by bacteria has excellent ability move the water from the bulk to the evaporative surface while minimizing the heat coming down, and the entire thing is produced in one shot.