About This Project

The goal of this project is to design filtration technologies using sustainability, energy costs and environmental impact as the guide. Silk protein is our target material due to available supply chains, cost, sustainable production, robust mechanical properties, and excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, with environmentally friendly processing/fabrication.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Membranes are ubiquitous in molecular separation, catalysis, reactors, energy storage, dialysis, and drug release. Polymeric membranes, in particular, are widely used in industry due to their low cost and ease of production. Unfortunately, current membrane production processes are not sustainable. Most of the solvents used (primarily N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylacetamide, and dimethylformamide) are highly toxic, with NMP, the most popular solvent used, recently being restricted in the EU. Membrane fabrication is estimated to contaminate 50 billion L of water annually, with ~70% of membrane fabricators flushing this waste. Additionally, typical membranes generate non-degradable, biohazardous waste that ends up in landfills, incinerators, or as microplastics.

What is the significance of this project?

Classical membrane technologies pose threats to the environment and to human health. The market for these technologies is already billions of USD and it is estimated that the global membrane market will continue to grow at a rate of 10-15% per year, further exacerbating these environmental impacts. Petroleum-based membranes are the major issue, due to their reliance on fossil fuels, carbon emissions during production, and nonbiodegradability. Indeed, this has led to significant investment in biodegradable membrane technologies like those derived from cellulose. However, using full life-cycle analyses, current bio-derived membranes can be as bad for the environment as fossil-based membranes, with both coming in at environmental costs of over $400/1,000 m2 produced.

What are the goals of the project?

The goal of this project is to design filtration technologies using sustainability, energy costs and environmental impact as the guide. Silk is our target material due to supply chains, cost, sustainable production, robust mechanical properties, and excellent biocompatibility/biodegradability, with environmentally friendly processing. Significant research has been done on silk as a membrane technology, but this project will focus on: designing scalable materials, measuring efficacy in aqueous separations, measuring mechanical properties, conducting life-cycle analyses to quantify the benefits of replacing current technology, and assessing these materials for a broad base of membrane needs related to environmental, personal, and other applications.