A salt-based liquid desiccant in a container, 40 litres an hour in arid air.
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Updated Sept 17, 2026
Drinking water purification covers producing water a person can drink, and removing what stops them. On Halo, the solutions cover water from air: sorbents and desiccants, water from air: condensation and passive capture, electrochemical removal and disinfection, and softening and scale. Sign up to search the full network and post your specific need.
Water from air: sorbents and desiccants
Carbon nanomaterials pulling 1.2g of water per gram of sorbent in half an hour.
A liquid that absorbs water in desert air, so nothing has to be condensed.
XL
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Polymer sorbents on a commercial rooftop, regenerated by solar heat.
A desiccant system run entirely on renewable power, sold to beverage makers.
TG
Advanced Vascular Access Sysytems
Metal-organic frameworks that still work at 7% relative humidity.
Water from air: condensation and passive capture
A two-stage cycle producing 1,000 litres a day on little energy.
WaterMaker International, LLC
Refrigeration-based condensation with twenty years of field units behind it.
Thermodynamic cycles down to 0.18 kWh per litre of drinking water.
Up to 5,000 litres a day from ambient air, built for industrial sites.
KC
Northwestern University
Wavy surfaces copied from a desert plant, catching dew and fog passively.
Electrochemical removal and disinfection
University of California, Los Angeles
A conductive porous membrane electrode taking chloramines under 0.1 mg/L in one pass.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Magneli phase titanium oxide turns chloramines into nitrogen gas and chloride.
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Who is working on drinking water purification
Organizations in drinking water purification
Universities, startups, and suppliers with solutions in drinking water purification.
Drinking water purification organizationsInnovators in drinking water purification
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Drinking water purification expertsAbout drinking water purification
Making water out of air is the largest single theme on Halo, with eleven entries splitting between sorbents, liquid desiccants, refrigeration and passive surfaces. The rest treat water that already exists: chloramines and metals pulled out electrochemically, hardness removed by crystallization, and a handful of tests to prove it worked. On Halo it spans six groups, including water from air: sorbents and desiccants, water from air: condensation and passive capture, and electrochemical removal and disinfection.
Stage of development. Work on drinking water purification on Halo comes mostly from companies. 32% of the solutions are in market. Arizona State University has the most, followed by Clarkson University. Co-development and sponsored research are the usual partnering routes, and about 55% of the solutions that state terms offer pilot engagements.
Three trends in drinking water purification on Halo
Eleven ways to take water out of air. Six use a sorbent or a desiccant, five condense or capture passively. The claims are specific and comparable: 0.18 kWh per litre, 1,000 litres a day, 5,000 litres a day, 1.2g of water per gram of sorbent, operation down to 7% relative humidity. One skips energy entirely, using wavy surfaces copied from a desert plant to catch dew and fog.
Chloramine is the contaminant of the moment. Four separate electrochemical entries target it, three of them from universities: a flow-through membrane electrode reaching under 0.1 mg/L in a single pass, Magneli phase titanium oxide converting it to nitrogen gas and chloride, and a filter that handles chloramines and heavy metals together. Disinfection byproducts have become their own removal problem.
Energy per litre is the number that matters. Almost every entry leads with it. A desalination biofilm claiming 10 to 15% of conventional energy, softening at one volt with 98% salt removal, activated carbon at a third of the usual cost, atmospheric generation quoted per kilowatt hour per litre. Where the water comes from varies; the thing they compete on does not.
Frequently asked questions
What is drinking water purification?
Drinking water purification covers producing water a person can drink, and taking out what stops them. It spans atmospheric water generation by sorbent, desiccant or condensation, electrochemical removal of chloramines and heavy metals, softening and scale control, adsorbents and low-energy desalination, and the tests that confirm the result is safe. Utilities, equipment makers and off-grid operators are the buyers.
What are examples of drinking water purification?
Five examples of drinking water purification solutions on Halo include:
- A salt-based liquid desiccant in a container, 40 litres an hour in arid air. (H2OLL)
- A two-stage cycle producing 1,000 litres a day on little energy. (H2OLL)
- A conductive porous membrane electrode taking chloramines under 0.1 mg/L in one pass. (University of California, Los Angeles)
- Countercurrent fluidization crystallizes out 80% of hardness, and nothing clogs. (Arizona State University)
- Activated carbon from corn stover and switchgrass at a third of the usual cost. (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
What are the latest drinking water purification innovations?
The most recently updated drinking water purification solutions on Halo include:
Which companies and suppliers are developing drinking water purification?
There are 315 organizations with drinking water purification solutions on Halo, 101 of them universities and research institutions. Among them are H2OLL, Awn nanotech, and PRD Tech, Inc.. Most offer co-development or sponsored research. Sign up to see every organization working in the area and to send them your specific need.
How do I find drinking water purification research partners?
Browsing drinking water purification solutions on Halo is free. Sign up to search the full network and save the ones you want. Post your specific need to get exact matches. Organizations reply directly on the platform.
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