Graphene membranes – a game changer preparing to disrupt the world water market

• Clean Teq Water (CNQ) subsidiary, NematiQ, has made a technological breakthrough that will address some of the current US$800 million (A$1.2 billion) per annum market size of nanofiltration, expected to grow to US$5 billion by 2030
• The patented technology uses graphene to create a membrane that provides nanofiltration with a fraction of the energy consumption compared to existing solutions
• The membranes are produced using industrial-scale equipment and are backwards compatible with existing spiral wound filter elements already used in industry
• An advanced pilot trial with one of Australia’s largest vegetable growers/processors, Schreurs & Sons, showed significant benefits and savings
• The company is the first in the world with a fully commercialised graphene membrane
• Initial pilot trials have been completed with numerous customers, and early sales have commenced

Is NematiQ’s graphene membrane the holy grail of water filtration?

For generations of scientists in the water industry, the holy grail of research has been the quest to find a filtration membrane that combines:

• High permeability (a high rate of flow);
• Outstanding nanofiltration qualities (effectively filtering out viruses, bacteria and dissolved organics without removing salts);
• Extended runtimes owing to lower membrane fouling;
• Low energy usage, and;
• Overall affordability.

For decades it has seemed like a fruitless search, as membranes that excelled in one of these criteria often performed poorly in others. But an innovative new, patented technology is about to change all that.

Australian water treatment and recovery specialist Clean TeQ Water (ASX: CNQ) is preparing to open new opportunities in the world-water market with ground-breaking new membrane technology through its subsidiary, NematiQ. The key material it uses is graphene – a one-atom thick lattice of carbon atoms first isolated in 2004.

Source: Supplied

Graphene – the “wonder material”

Some 200 times stronger than steel yet remarkably flexible, and a great conductor of electricity and heat while offering unique levels of light absorption, graphene is a “wonder material” that promises to revolutionise numerous industries. From batteries and solar cells to computer chips and supercapacitors, to touchscreens and even DNA sequencing, graphene is proving its game-changing properties across a truly diverse array of applications.

NematiQ utilises the remarkable properties of graphene oxide to create a range of filter membranes in different standard-sized modules, to dramatically improve on existing water purification technology, producing clean water without creating negative environmental impacts such as brine wastes in the process.

Affordability, flexibility, reliability – NematiQ has it all

NematiQ CEO Dr David Menzies told The Market Herald that after a decade of research, his team has perfected the patented technology to produce graphene membranes in commercial quantities, using industrial-scale manufacturing techniques.

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Taxonomy

• Membranes
• Membrane Filtration
• Graphene
• Membrane