Membrane separation technologies are one of the corner stones of modern economy, and this $12B/year market has been growing at an annual rate exceeding 9%. Membranes are also critically important for global societal and humanitarian problems, such as availability of clean water.  One of 6 people in the world lacks access to clean water and water shortage is a growing problem in the Western US. Small-pore membranes enable energy-efficient reverse-osmosis processes that would allow us tap into oceans as a fresh water source. Development of a scalable process for aligning small-pore carbon nanotubes into a membrane would produce membranes with permeability of up to 100 times higher than current RO membranes, and would represent a paradigm shift for the RO membrane market. Commercialization of this process could potentially make RO desalinated water costs in line with the current municipal water costs, and thus unlock an almost inexhaustible water source for the US and global population. 


The project is a collaboration with Prof. James Watkins of the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, one of the most prominent polymers science departments in the US.

Porifera Inc. is a San Francisco Bay Area based company whose goal is commercialization of carbon nanotube membrane technology. Porifera combines groundbreaking research advances with solid technological and marketing expertise to develop solutions that will revolutionize the membrane industry and provide clean drinking water and air free of pollutants.