STTR Phase I: Active Fouling Resistant Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes

The Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will develop active, fouling resistant nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Commercially available NF and RO membranes for desalination of brackish water will be surface modified by graft polymerization of nanolayers. Thus, the modified membranes will possess excellent antifouling properties, and will be easily cleanable, without the use of harsh chemicals. The modification of membranes will have minimal impacts on permeate flux and salt rejection. Thus, the proposed technology presents a new way to overcome membrane fouling, one of the biggest problems in many water treatment processes. The proposed innovation is a membrane improvement based upon commercially available products. The membrane modification will not add significantly to the membrane processing cost or to the final product cost. Meanwhile, membrane manufacturers can use their current membrane casting equipment with little, if any, modification. As water shortages grow worse in the Western US and worldwide, and wastewater treatment requirements increasing, the proposed surface-modified, fouling-resistant membranes will have broad economic and social impacts.