Membrane Research and Technology in Australia

Membrane research and implementation has expanded enormously in the Australian and Asia-Pacific region in the last 15 years. Major desalination plants have been built in major Australia cities in parallel with widening interest in membrane technology across the board in water and wastewater treatment.  Recently the development of unconventional gas resources within Australia has further spur applications in produced water treatment and concentrate management using membranes. At the Centre for Membrane Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales, research has focussed both on challenges of emerging technologies and issues in maturing membrane areas in both gas and water arenas. Functionalization for antifouling, superhydrophobicity/superhydrophilicity, and biocatalytic properties have focussed on nanocomposite and additivation approaches. Ageing and cleaning of membranes along with reuse and disposal of reverse osmosis membrane are other major endeavours in the Centre relevant to the maturing membrane industry. Membrane distillation, assisted forward osmosis, CFD modelling, validation of membrane processes, hybrid processes, and resource recovery are other major themes in the water space. The prevalence of coal fired power plants and large natural gas reserves within Australia and abroad has also driven ongoing research in CO₂ capture and utilization with both pressure driven membranes and new hybrid enzymatic membrane systems.