Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/M01486X/1
Title:	From membrane material synthesis to fabrication and function (SynFabFun)
Principal Investigator:	Metcalfe, Professor IS
Other Investigators:	Budd, Professor PM Chew, Professor YMJ Patterson, Dr DA Mattia, Professor D Li, Professor K Livingston, Professor A McKeown, Professor N
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Anglian Water BGT Materials Ltd BP Dr Reddy's Laboratories UK Ltd Evonik Industries AG (International) GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) Johnson Matthey Pervatech Scottish Water Severn Trent Water Ltd Thames Water Plc
Department:	Sch of Engineering
Organisation:	Newcastle University
Scheme:	Programme Grants
Starts:	01 April 2015	Ends:	30 June 2021	Value (£):	4,508,218
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Manufact. Enterprise Ops& Mgmt Materials Characterisation Materials Processing Separation Processes
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Energy Water
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 01 Dec 2014 Programme Grant Interviews (Engineering) - 1 December 2014 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Membranes offer exciting opportunities for more efficient, lower energy, more sustainable separations and even entirely new process options - and so are a valuable tool in an energy constrained world. However, high performance polymeric, inorganic and ceramic membranes all suffer from problems with decay in performance over time, through either membrane ageing (membrane material relaxation) and/or fouling (foreign material build-up in and/or on the membrane), and this seriously limits their impact. Our vision is to create membranes which do not suffer from ageing or fouling, and for which separation functionality is therefore maintained over time. We will achieve this through a combination of the synthesis of new membrane materials and fabrication of novel membrane composites (polymeric, ceramic and hybrids), supported by new characterisation techniques. Our ambition is to change the way the global membrane community perceives performance. Through the demonstration of membranes with immortal performance, we seek to shift attention away from a race to achieve ever higher initial permeability, to creation of membranes with long-term stable performance which are successful in industrial application.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.ncl.ac.uk