Ultrafast Water Permeation of Biomimetic Membranes Embedded with Aquaporin for Water Reuse and Desalination

Biomimetic membranes embedded with Aquaporin have received worldwide attention for water reuse and desalination. Compared to commercially available polymeric membranes, biological membranes exhibit far superior water transport and regulation ability via transmembrane water channel proteins - aquaporin (Aqp). The water permeability of a single tetramer ranges from 6 to 24 ×10^-14cm³/s depending on the source of the Aqp. To our best knowledge, for the first time, a proof-of-concept will be demonstrated in this presentation. The Aqp Z molecules are inserted into amphiphilic polymers in a functional folding and then coated on a porous substrate. The selective layer exhibits the world’s highest water permeability with a reasonably low salt reverse flux. Both water and seawater are used as the feed in forward osmosis (FO) processes.

Acknowledgement
This work was financially supported by the Environment and Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) (NUS grant number: R-279-000-293-272) under the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF).