About the company

Via Separations is developing a new membrane material to make manufacturing processes more energy efficient—transforming the production of things like fertilizer and nylon, and with the potential to save a gigaton of carbon each year.

About the solution

Membranes today are predominantly made of polymers or ceramics. Most polymer membranes have limitations in the range of operating conditions that allow them to retain their integrity. Ceramic membranes can only separate molecules and compounds so small. The Via NUfiltration platform exhibits the nano-scale molecular filtration of polymers with the size exclusion mechanism and range of operating conditions of ceramics by introducing a brand new material to the separation toolkit.

These membranes look different from polymers, but they can wrap up into a spiral configuration just the same way. The scaffold material, graphene oxide, is robust and inert. The graphene oxide flakes have hydrophilic surfaces that inhibit fouling and encourage fast flow. Via’s scalable and proprietary solution processing methods result in a mechanically strong membrane construction with excellent uniformity.