DESIGNING ION-SELECTIVE MEMBRANES FOR CIRCULARITY IN WATER AND ENERGY
Date: October 19, 2026 Time: 11:30 AM Location: SBASSE Dean's Smart Lab
Speaker: Luis Francisco (Paco) Villalobos
Clean water, a healthy environment, and sustainable energy systems all depend on how effectively we separate, use, and recover resources. Membranes play an important role in these efforts by allowing some substances to pass while retaining others. Beyond removing contaminants, they offer opportunities to recover valuable materials and return water and resources to productive use, supporting a more circular economy. This presentation will introduce the opportunities and challenges of developing membranes that can distinguish between different dissolved ions. Such separations are relevant to water treatment, wastewater reuse, and the recovery of minerals needed for batteries and other energy technologies. However, selectively separating ions with similar properties remains a major challenge. Drawing inspiration from biological systems, we will explore how the structure and chemistry of a membrane can influence which ions pass through it. I will briefly highlight our efforts to incorporate selective binding sites into thin polymer membranes, illustrating how molecular design can help address broader separation challenges.
The presentation will connect these emerging research directions with practical questions about scalability, resource efficiency, and environmental impact. It will highlight how advances in membrane science could contribute to more sustainable approaches to managing water and recovering resources for a circular future.
19
Oct
Date: October 19, 2026
Time: 11:30 AM
Location: SBASSE Dean's Smart Lab
Speaker: Luis Francisco (Paco) Villalobos