British scientists have created a sieve capable of making seawater drinkable.
Boffins made the breakthrough by controlling the size of pores in a membrane made from wonder material graphene.
It allowed them to filter out salt from water, making it safe to drink.
They hope it could help millions of people who don’t have access to clean drinking water within five years.
The researchers from the University of Manchester announced their findings in the Nature Nanotechnology journal.
Professor Rahul Nair, who led the team, said it is a “significant step forward improving the efficiency of desalination technology”.
He added: “Current technology applies high pressures to remove salt from water.
“Now we have a membrane that can separate salt better. We can expect it to be much more efficient.”
With climate change reducing water supplies, countries have been increasingly investing in “desalination” technologies.
The UN has predicted that around 1.2 billion people, or 14 per cent of the world’s population, will have trouble accessing clean water by 2025.
Graphene was discovered at the University of Manchester in 2004 and received the Nobel prize six years later.
The super-strong form of carbon was predicted to revolutionise the economy but it currently has few applications in everyday life.
