EWI Grant for Exploring Biomimetic Membranes for Desalination and Water Reuse

Prof. Neal Chung TS (4th from the left in the front row), Prof. Jeyaseelan K (3rd from the left in the front row), A/Prof. Tong YW (2nd from the left in the front row), Dr. Lin QS (5th from the left in the front row), Dr. Li Y (1st from the left in the front row), Dr. Armugam A (6th from the left in the front row), Prof. Rajagopalan R, Prof. Feng SS, Dr. Deng YR, Prof. Meier W, Prof Hua SZ, Dr. Wang KY, Dr. Xiao YC and Dr. Yang Q have won the support from EWI in the form of a S$4,517,700 grant to explore and demonstrate the biomimetic membranes for desalination and water reuse.

Water transports rapidly through most living cells that are enclosed by lipid bilayer membranes. The origin of its high water permeability was revealed by Peter Agre in 1992 with the discovery of the first aquaporin protein that was embedded in and across the lipid bilayer membrane. So far, there are thirteen known aquaporins, and most of them are channel forming membrane proteins and appear to be exclusive water channels that will not allow the transport of ions or other small molecules because of narrow channels and unique charge characteristics. Compared to the traditional reverse osmosis process where extremely high hydraulic pressures are required to push water across the membrane, the aquaporin channel transports water rapidly with a much less energy and pressure. As a result, biomimetic membranes comprising aquaporins for water reuses have received worldwide attention. The purposes of this study are (1) to carry out an exploratory study on molecular engineering of biomimetic membranes comprising aquaporins for water purification, and (2) to conceptually demonstrate ultra-thin biomimetic membranes with embedded aquaporins in useful forms for water reuse or seawater desalination. It is believed that the proposed biomimetic membranes would emerge as a new research direction in the near future for the next-generation desalination technology.