How Covering Reservoirs with a One-Molecule-Thick Film Could Alleviate Droughts Ben Schiller - Fast Company
go to original March 28, 2015

As the West runs out of water, an MIT professor thinks he's figured out how to reduce evaporation in massive reservoirs by 50%. (Kushch Dmitry/Shutterstock)

The world needs more water, or it's going to run out. Yet most water conservation strategies, such as repairing faulty pipework in cities or improving management of watersheds upriver, don't really change much about how the existing system works.

MIT professor Moshe Alamaro's focus is more directed. He wants to cover a few hundred reservoirs so the water in them doesn't evaporate so readily. His idea is to cover the biggest reservoirs with a one-molecule-thick film derived from palm oil or coconut oil. He thinks it could reduce evaporation by 50%, if done properly.

...The oil is likely to make no difference in the taste of the water, or cause any local environmental impacts. It's also cheap, so constantly respraying isn't an issue.

...Apart from the U.S. Southwest, Alamaro also sees markets in Mexico, India, China, Egypt, and Pakistan, all of which have hot, dry climates and growing water security issues. But he needs more funding before he can get to any of those places.

Read the rest at Fast Company

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