Membranes are an essential component of nature and industry. Biological membranes are thin layers that form boundaries in living cells and cell compartments, controlling the substances that can pass between bounded regions. They are extremely efficient materials that can inspire the design of industrial membranes.
In industry, membranes are most notably used for beer and wine production, petroleum refining, and water purification. One of today’s most essential areas of research is water desalination, which removes salt from water to create freshwater.
Globally, nearly 80% of freshwater is used for agriculture, livestock, and energy production, which creates localized strains on freshwater sources. If farmers and manufacturers could efficiently utilize saltwater for these applications, it could alleviate stress on local sources.
Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are the standard method for desalination of saltwater, and the RO industry produces nearly 21 billion gal of water per day. RO membranes also play an important role in recycling and recovering freshwater from wastewater streams from human and industrial sources. The membranes rely on a fully aromatic polyamide (PA) active layer,...
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