ERC Consolidator Grant for mosaic membrane development by Wiebe de Vos

Previous article Next article UT researcher Wiebe de Vos has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant totalling €2 million to develop a new membrane with alternating positively and negatively charged domains. This enables the membrane to filter micro-pollutants from water while allowing salt ions and other important minerals to pass through. Micro-pollutants in our surface water and drinking water sources are a growing problem. The minute residues of drugs and other harmful substances are hazardous to human beings and to the environment. Current methods of filtering out micro-pollutants from water are energy-intensive and often remove more than is wanted, making it necessary to re-add the essential minerals to the water afterwards." Mosaic membrane. The membrane developed by De Vos should remedy that issue. His project MOSAIC (Building charge-MOSAIC nanofiltration membranes for removing micro-pollutants from surface and drinking water) involves him developing a membrane consisting alternately of positively and negatively charged surfaces.