Reference #: 01248
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for novel additives for thin film nanocomposite polyamide membranes for use in reverse osmosis desalination.
Background:
Lack of clean fresh water is a prominent issue in the modern world. With such a large fraction of seawater available desalination is a viable option to gain usable water for daily needs as well as corporate and industrial processes. Reverse Osmosis is a widely applied desalination technique, with thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes considered to be the best in use. Polyamide (PA) composites are the most used membranes, with graphene oxide (GO) flake use in the PA membrane generally leading to an increase in water flux. It is desirable to develop different novel additives that could be used in the place of GO to increase water flux while maintaining similar salt rejection.
Invention Description:
The subject invention is an additive of Nitrogen doped graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQD) synthesized for thin film nanocomposite polyamide membranes.
Potential Applications:
Improved desalination using thin film nanocomposite polyamide membranes for reverse osmosis.
Advantages and Benefits:
Increased water permeability up to 3 times while maintaining similar salt rejection. Improved thermal stability.