Issue 20, 2013 - Nanoparticle membranes are expected to reduce the cost of novel desalination

Nanoparticle membranes are expected to reduce the cost of novel desalination

Recently, the team led by Professor Heinrich Jaeger of the University of Chicago has developed a commercially possible nanoparticle desalination system with the support of the Innovation Fund, and this new nanofiltration technology is expected to reduce the cost of the
desalination process.

The use of desalination to produce fresh water can help alleviate the dilemma of population growth and dwindling fresh water supply, but the current traditional desalination process is very expensive, and its high cost is mainly derived from the huge energy consumption of high-pressure systems and expensive high-pressure pumps and sealing equipment, which account for more than
73% of the cost of the entire desalination process.
The new nanoparticle desalination system developed by Professor Jaeger uses an ultra-thin self-assembled nanoparticle membrane
with a thickness of only 30 nm.
The membrane is currently the thinnest in the world, and the size, shape and chemical structure of the membrane pores can be systematically adjusted to optimize the filtration process
.
Under the same pressure conditions, the flux is 100 times
that of conventional membranes.
In addition, the new membrane is manufactured using a cost-effective self-assembly process that can be used in a variety of low-pressure nanofiltration processes
, including desalination.

Currently, Professor Jaeger works closely with UChicagoTech, the administrator of the UChicago Fund, which will develop a commercial development of the membrane and applied for an international patent
for this technology at the end of 2012.
(Xingying)