BIOMEM, a project led by Aquaporin, a Danish biotech company, in collaboration with Dr. Alan Goddard of Aston University, has secured a €3m grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder program.
The initiative aims to create an innovative bioinspired membrane for the selective extraction of compounds from water.
Current water filtration methods necessitate high pressure and energy consumption and lack selectivity in filtering molecules.
The BIOMEM project will introduce BIOmimetic selective extraction MEMbranes, capable of isolating individual compounds from water solutions while using 50-75% less energy compared to current nanofiltration technologies. These membranes will operate efficiently even at low concentrations of the target compound.
The potential applications of these membranes span various sectors, including wastewater treatment to eliminate specific pollutants like phosphate, and in biotechnology for extracting valuable substances from fermentation processes, such as vitamins and pharmaceuticals.
The researchers behind BIOMEM anticipate a revolutionary impact on bioprocessing industries, foreseeing significant reductions in operational costs.
This grant marks a significant achievement for the newly established Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME), merging membrane protein biochemistry and polymer science to address global challenges through innovative solutions.
The term ‘biomimetic’ refers to mimicking biological processes, and the new membranes will replicate natural cell membranes.
These membranes will incorporate transport proteins found in biological cell membranes into robust industrial plastic membranes to achieve highly selective separations.
Dr. Goddard and the interdisciplinary team at Aston University, including Dr. Alice Rothnie, Professor Roslyn Bill, Dr. Matthew Derry, Professor Brian Tighe, and Professor Paul Topham, will develop and assess novel polymers capable of extracting transport proteins and their stabilizing lipids from biological membranes while preserving their functionality.
Transport proteins within membranes are typically unstable and challenging to isolate and study.
By stabilizing and extracting these proteins at Aston University, the consortium can integrate them into new bio-inspired membranes for further testing and optimization.
The consortium plans to conduct proof-of-concept experiments using the membranes to extract valuable food ingredients from fermentation broth and phosphate from wastewater.
Ultimately, they aim to produce customized selective membranes for various applications.
Apart from Aquaporin and Aston University, the BIOMEM consortium includes partners such as the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Copenhagen University, Tampere University, and dsm-firmenich, a global leader in nutrition, health, and beauty innovation.
Dr. Goddard expressed enthusiasm about the project’s potential to redefine industrial separation membrane manufacturing and create a versatile system applicable across multiple industries.
Torsten Bak, Senior Vice President of Aquaporin Deep Tech Center, highlighted the project’s significance and the unique properties of the bio-membrane being developed, which could optimize various industries.
Source : Aston University
