Tests conducted by ONR at the US Navy Seawater Desalination Test Facility at Port Hueneme in California, focusing on fouling resistance and the optimization of desalination systems for high-flux operations, will also help NanoH2O to compare its technology to existing reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.
Operating in near-coastal waters, naval ships seek to address membrane-fouling issues with desalination systems that are effective under a variety of challenging conditions encountered by the military.
However, traditional reverse osmosis (RO) membranes tend to naturally foul over time, leading to irreversible productivity limitations and costly replacements.
With nanomaterials encapsulated directly into the membrane’s polymer layer, NanoH2O’s membranes exhibit permeability (flux) while maintaining rejection of salt and other contaminants, the company said.
Additionally, decreasing the physical size of the units is critical to shipboard and forward operations. These advantages enable desalination systems to be built with up to a 40% smaller footprint when compared to conventional shipboard systems, the company claimed.
Jeff Green, CEO of NanoH2O, said: ”NanoH2O’s ultimate objective is to alter the fundamental economics of commercial desalination by addressing productivity and fouling issues inherent in traditional RO membranes.”
