Access to fresh, clean water for all is a universal problem. Climate change, pollution and population growth are factors that will further exacerbate this issue in years to come, placing stress on current supplies. Novel, sustainable technologies are required now more than ever to provide the solution, in a way that is robust, economical and scalable.

At Molymem, we are developing the next generation of membranes, based on two-dimensional molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) to form highly efficient water filtration membranes. Our membranes aim to combine the best features of commercially available membranes such as the small pore size and separation efficiency of polymeric membranes and the robustness and lifetime of ceramic membranes. High water permeation and contaminant rejection positions these membranes as lower energy alternatives to traditional nanofiltration membranes, with the added benefit of specific functionality, tailored rejection and hence tuneable membrane technology.

In this talk, building on our scale-up and growth over the past year, we will show the effectiveness of our hybrid ceramic NF membranes for the removal of NOM and nutrients from a range of UK ground and river waters and benchmark their performance against state-of-the-art commercial polymer NF membranes, typically used by the water industry. NOM and nutrient removal (nitrates, phosphates) require complex and expensive physical and chemical treatment trains. We believe our membrane technology could reduce or eliminate the use of coagulation/chemical usage resulting in lower OPEX and reduced CO2 asset footprints overtime. Molymem have targeted the removal of these nanoscale compounds, to protect public health whilst maintaining a practical and economical solution for water suppliers through the use of our disruptive membrane technology.