Low Cost Printed Graphene-Oxide Membranes for Water Purification

Despite the UN's declared Human Right to Water Policy, almost 30% of the world's population does not have access to safe drinking water. Membrane-based water purification systems are a critical technology solution to address the global challenges of poor water quality, pollution of aquatic surface water sources, and water scarcity. Overcoming the inherent limitations of conventional membrane materials to purify contaminated water at low cost while retaining high water flux is necessary to provide the next generation of point-of-use water purification systems. G2O has developed a graphene oxide based coating technology that has shown excellent separation of organic contaminants along with increased water flux through the membranes. The combination of high throughput and low pressure makes the technology suitable for point-of-use water purification systems. The project aims to develop an industrially scalable process for manufacturing of these membranes via development of a robust formulation for printing the GO-based coating onto the membrane substrate. Development of prototype modules using these membranes will allow the consortium to validate its performance and benchmark it against incumbent systems during the project.