A newly developed nano-porous foam membrane enables highly efficient separation of wastewater components for future reuse — offering industries a sustainable and value-added solution for environmental management.
Breakthrough Membrane for Sustainable Water Management
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Engineers have created an innovative membrane capable of separating chemicals in wastewater with exceptional efficiency, allowing valuable by-products and compounds to be recovered. This new material, designed for industrial wastewater treatment, is called a Thin-Film Composite Nano-Porous Membrane (TFC NPM).
The TFC NPM demonstrates unprecedented selectivity, effectively removing salts and other chemical contaminants while consuming less energy and operating at lower cost. The technology could significantly advance sustainable water treatment and reuse across multiple industrial sectors.
The findings were published in Nature Water by researchers from the University of Bath (UK), in collaboration with colleagues from China, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and Belgium.
Enhanced Electrolysis Efficiency at Lower Cost
Traditionally, electrolysis — the process of moving ions through a membrane under an electric current — is used to treat saline wastewater streams. However, conventional membranes are costly and typically achieve only 90–95% separation efficiency.
In contrast, the new TFC NPM membrane can achieve over 99% separation, while requiring less energy and incurring lower operational costs. This makes it a promising replacement for existing electrolysis membranes in various industrial applications.
Nature-Inspired Design Improves Filtration Performance
The membrane’s surface coating is inspired by the adhesion mechanism of mussels. Researchers designed a composite layer of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polydopamine (PDA) — a natural compound secreted by mussels to adhere to rocks and wood in wet environments.
This bio-inspired adhesive layer enhances membrane selectivity, allowing water molecules to pass through while blocking organic compounds and other contaminants. The result is a multi-stage, energy-efficient filtration process that enables high-precision separation of individual chemicals.
Proven Efficiency in Antibiotic Removal
To evaluate its performance, researchers tested the membrane using four antibiotics — sodium ceftriaxone, sodium cefotaxime, disodium carbenicillin, and sodium ampicillin. The PDA/PEI-coated TFC NPM achieved exceptional results, with:
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Salt removal efficiency: 99.3%
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Antibiotic recovery rate: 99.1%
These results demonstrate the membrane’s potential for high-efficiency electro-fractionation of mixed organic and saline wastewater, outperforming conventional treatment methods.
Toward a Cleaner Industrial Future
According to Dr. Dong Han Seo of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology,
“This work showcases advanced electrolysis-based technology to tackle one of the major challenges in the pharmaceutical sector — enabling the efficient recovery of high-value chemicals while producing reusable water with minimal energy consumption.”
The introduction of bio-inspired nano-membrane filtration marks a major step forward in achieving sustainable wastewater management, aligning with global efforts to create a circular, low-carbon industrial ecosystem.