Jessica Schiffman, Gary R. Lapidus Faculty Fellow in Chemical Engineering, has received a National Science Foundation grant to produce polymer membranes — a process that currently generates billions of liters of toxic, solvent-contaminated wastewater a year — using a sustainable, environmentally friendly and toxin-free method.
Polymer membranes are used in water purification systems to remove particulates and waterborne pathogens from water and wastewater. Since the 1960s, the membrane manufacturing process has used non-solvent-induced phase separation, which generates more than 50 billion liters of contaminated wastewater each year. During operation particulates accumulate on the surface of the membranes, causing them to need regular physical and/or chemical cleaning, which increases process downtime and causes membrane degradation.
Read full article at the UMass News Site