Membranes & Filtration

Researchers have created a graphene oxide membrane that enhances the efficiency of isopropanol purification by reducing energy consumption and increasing processing speed.

Researchers have developed biochar-based phase change composites from food waste, integrating them into paper membranes for energy storage applications.

A review indicates that adding biochar to anammox reactors could enhance their efficiency by acting as a conductive interface.

A natural filter using biochar, small stones, and coarse sand is effectively reducing bacteria levels in a polluted South African river.

Researchers at the University of Patras improved E. coli retention in sand by adding 10% biochar from brewery waste, achieving 94.1% removal compared to 17.8% with unamended sand.

Researchers have reviewed the preparation and application of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and biochar composites for water pollution control. The coprecipitation method shows promise for industrial-scale production due to its simplicity and effective pollutant adsorption.

POINTVALUES, a BC Tech finalist, is transforming mustard waste into biochar and bio-oil, enhancing carbon sequestration and soil remediation capabilities.

Researchers at KU Leuven have developed a graphene oxide membrane that efficiently separates water from isopropanol, reducing energy use in solvent purification.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded $1 million for mobile biochar equipment to convert Hurricane Helene debris into a soil amendment for flood-damaged farmland in Haywood County.

FIU researcher Islam Ibrahim Hussein developed a reusable filter from rice husk biochar to remove industrial dyes from water. The material was effective in tests and can be reused multiple times.

Researchers at Yunnan Minzu University developed a biochar catalyst from spent coffee grounds that converts over 99% of hydrogen sulfide into elemental sulfur, offering a sustainable waste treatment solution.

A review in Nano Research highlights how terminal groups (Tₓ) on MXenes influence their properties and applications, emphasizing their potential for tailored electronic, optical, and mechanical functionalities.

Researchers converted eucalyptus wood waste into biochar, achieving an aluminum adsorption capacity of 139.2 mg/g. The biochar retained 78% capacity after five reuse cycles, highlighting its durability.

Zentek plans to release an economic study this summer for its graphite deposit near Hearst, Ontario.

St. Louis County, the city of Duluth, and other partners have implemented a green-infrastructure project at Hartley Nature Center to divert and filter stormwater runoff from 117 acres, using biochar among other materials to remediate contaminants. This initiative is significant for advanced carbon materials as it utilizes biochar, a form of carbon, to improve water quality by removing pollutants, benefiting ecosystems connected to Lake Superior.

Researchers at Florida International University have found that a water sample from the Hillsborough River near downtown Tampa contained 12 nanograms per liter of 6PPD-Q, a toxic chemical from tire wear, exceeding the EPA benchmark of 11 nanograms per liter. This study highlights the potential of using sargassum-based biochar to filter out harmful pollutants, which could protect Florida's aquatic ecosystems from the adverse effects of tire-derived chemicals.

Researchers from the study published in Biochar have demonstrated that using iron and manganese modified biochar (FMBC) with specific irrigation strategies can significantly reduce cadmium and mercury levels in rice grown in co-contaminated paddy fields. This approach could enhance the safety of rice by stabilizing these metals and reducing their uptake, offering a viable solution for managing heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils.

The Government of Himachal Pradesh, in collaboration with Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry and ProClime Services Private Limited, has launched India's first indigenous biochar project in Hamirpur district, aiming to convert forest biomass into biochar to reduce fire risks and generate carbon credits. This initiative is significant for the advanced carbon materials sector as it transforms waste biomass into biochar, a stable carbon-rich material, thereby contributing to carbon sequestration and offering a sustainable model for forest management and rural livelihoods.

A physics-informed machine learning model optimises biochar production for water treatment, aiming to close the gap between laboratory results and large-scale application.

Researchers at RSC Advances led by Hai Bang Truong have demonstrated that engineered biochar can increase arsenic removal efficiency by seventy-two times. This advancement in biochar technology could significantly enhance water purification processes, making it a valuable tool for environmental remediation.

Researchers at Beijing Renhe Information Technology Co., Ltd. have developed a new CNT/BC composite hydrogel membrane, designated CBC4. This material could enhance the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube-based composites, offering potential improvements in strength and flexibility for various applications.

Bakkafrost Scotland showcased its Applecross recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility during a visit by Scotland’s marine minister, highlighting its strategy of rearing salmon longer in freshwater conditions. The facility plans to install pyrolysis technology to convert hatchery waste into biochar, aligning with efforts to reduce environmental impact and enhance sustainability in aquaculture.

Researchers at an unnamed institution have developed a photoregenerable β-Ga₂O₃-functionalized biochar that captures and breaks down PFOS, a persistent "forever chemical," under UV light. This advancement could significantly enhance the use of biochar in water treatment applications, addressing contamination by PFOS and potentially other similar pollutants.

Researchers have developed an electrified process to convert CO2 and biochar into carbon monoxide and activated carbon. This advancement could enhance the production of activated carbon, a material crucial for water treatment, metals recovery, and air purification.

Professor Chang Liu of the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences presented research at an NTU MSE seminar on SWCNT-based hybrid materials, including a SWCNT/Cu core-shell fiber with a specific electrical conductivity of 1.15×10⁴ S m² kg⁻¹ and FeCl3-filled CNT fibers reaching 1.35×10⁷ S m⁻¹ conductivity and 2.54 GPa tensile strength. The work advances CNT fiber and film applications in electrical conductors, thermoelectric devices, and electrocatalysis by addressing the longstanding dispersion challenge that has limited SWCNT composite development.

Professor Roman Gorbachev at the University of Manchester received a £1.9 million EPSRC Open Fellowship to lead a five-year project scaling van der Waals 2D material heterostructures from micrometre samples to wafer-scale fabrication using a new ultra-high vacuum platform. The work directly advances graphene and 2D materials manufacturing by targeting industrial-process compatibility and establishing a UK fabrication hub accessible to academic and industry users.

Researchers at the University of Aveiro developed 3D-printed filters from bauxite refining waste (red mud) that removed over 90% of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin within one hour under UV light. The work demonstrates a functional application for carbon nanotubes in photocatalytic water treatment using industrial byproducts, with the material retaining performance across multiple decontamination cycles.

EPFL researchers, led by Nikita Kavokine at the Quantum Plumbing Lab, are studying water confined to nanometer-scale channels and found that electromagnetic coupling between water molecules and channel wall electrons creates a friction mechanism not predicted by classical hydrodynamics. For the carbon nanotubes sector, this work helps explain the anomalously fast water flow observed through carbon nanotubes and points toward nanotube-based systems capable of converting hydraulic energy or improving filtration efficiency.

Researchers from Cambridge, Harvard, Caltech, and the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research published findings in Science Advances showing that nanoconfined water's apparent chemical reactivity is driven by pressure and surface chemistry rather than confinement itself, with hydroxide ions bonding to hexagonal boron nitride walls but not to inert graphene. The work offers a design principle for tailoring water reactivity by selecting confining materials and controlling internal pressures, with direct relevance to graphene-based membranes, carbon electrodes in batteries and fuel cells, and the broader development of two-dimensional carbon and carbon-adjacent materials for electrochemical applications.

Canada's graphene sector has developed across production, construction, filtration, printed electronics, and energy storage, with companies such as NanoXplore operating a 4,000-metric-ton-per-year facility in Montréal and firms like Zentek and Graphene Leaders Canada advancing application-specific products toward commercial deployment. The ecosystem signals a shift from materials science demonstration toward repeatable industrial use cases in carbon-based composites, conductive additives, and separation technologies, though commercial viability still depends on product qualification, standardization, and cost competitiveness against incumbent materials.

Researchers and engineers are evaluating graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide as adsorbents, antifouling coatings, catalytic supports, and modified membrane layers within industrial water treatment systems targeting COD removal, biofouling control, and reverse osmosis feed protection. The graphene sector faces a clear scaling challenge, as industrial adoption of these carbon nanomaterials depends on demonstrating mechanical stability, resistance to chemical cleaning cycles, controlled delamination, and validated cost-per-cubic-meter performance in pilot tests using real effluent matrices.

Researchers at the University of Córdoba's Plasma Innovation Laboratory developed two methods for depositing graphene onto metal surfaces using microwave plasmas at atmospheric pressure, but found that neither achieved sufficient adhesion between the graphene layer and the metal. The work advances graphene's potential as a corrosion-resistant coating for industrial applications such as fuel cell electrodes, while identifying adhesion as the key technical barrier to overcome.

Canatu Plc restructured its leadership team on June 25, 2026, consolidating reporting lines directly to CEO Maximilian Slawinski and renaming its Automotive business unit to Robotics, Mobility and Defence. The reorganization signals Canatu's broadened market focus for its carbon nanotube products beyond automotive into robotics and defence applications.

Researchers at the University of Johannesburg fabricated a three-layer nanocomposite photocatalyst (Ti1.33N@BiVO4/GdIn2Se3) incorporating a custom-synthesized MXene, achieving 20× greater electrical conductivity and charge-carrier lifetimes up to 59.5 seconds compared to single-component baselines. The MXene engineering approach demonstrates a pathway for improving charge-carrier retention in 2D carbon-adjacent materials, with direct relevance to MXene-based composite development for energy and environmental applications.

Researchers from Cambridge, Harvard, Caltech, and the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research used machine-learning simulations to study water confined between graphene and hexagonal boron nitride sheets, finding that confinement alone does not alter water's reactivity but that pressure and surface chemistry of the confining material are the controlling factors. For the carbon materials sector, the study establishes that graphene's chemically inert surface does not enhance water dissociation, while reactive surfaces like hBN do, offering a design principle for selecting 2D carbon and non-carbon materials in membranes, fuel cells, and electrochemical systems.

Researchers from Cambridge, Harvard, Caltech, and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research published findings in Science Advances showing that nanoconfined water's apparent chemical reactivity is driven by pressure and surface chemistry rather than confinement itself, using machine-learning simulations of water trapped between graphene and hexagonal boron nitride sheets. The work establishes that graphene's chemically inert surface leaves water reactivity unchanged, while reactive surfaces like hBN can actively enhance water dissociation—a design principle relevant to graphene and 2D carbon material applications in membranes, fuel cells, and electrochemical systems.

Chohee Yang and colleagues published a study in npj Clean Water showing that copper-incorporated biochar synthesized under a CO₂ atmosphere removes 90.8% of bisphenol A via adsorption and achieves over 99% total degradation with peroxydisulfate, while the production process yields syngas comprising 94% of total gas output. The findings are relevant to the biochar sector as they demonstrate a pathway to engineer biochar with both high-performance catalytic water treatment capability and improved thermochemical energy recovery in a single production process.

A review published in *Biochar* by Rasool et al. compared conventional and microwave-assisted pyrolysis, finding that microwave-derived biochars exhibit higher surface area, stronger mesoporosity, and greater retention of functional groups. For the biochar sector, the findings indicate microwave-assisted pyrolysis can produce more effective adsorbents for heavy metals and organic pollutants, though reactor scale-up and energy balance challenges must be resolved before industrial adoption.

A review published in the journal *Biochar* compared conventional and microwave-assisted pyrolysis as production routes for biochar, finding that microwave-derived biochars typically exhibit higher surface area, stronger mesoporosity, and greater retention of functional groups relevant to pollutant capture. For the advanced carbon materials sector, the findings highlight biochar's expanding role beyond remediation into electrode materials and catalysis, while noting that reactor scale-up and energy balance challenges must be resolved before microwave-assisted pyrolysis reaches industrial viability.

Researchers at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) embedded sorghum straw biochar into a polyzwitterionic hydrogel and achieved a solar evaporation rate of 3.57 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ under one-sun irradiation, roughly 1.87 times higher than the biochar-free hydrogel. The study demonstrates that low-cost biomass-derived biochar can simultaneously enhance photothermal conversion, heat localization, and water molecule activation in hydrogel evaporators, offering a viable pathway for biochar use in solar-driven desalination materials.

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science and Korea University used machine-learning interatomic potentials to demonstrate that pristine graphene is intrinsically hydrophobic, with apparent hydrophilic behavior in prior experiments caused by water molecules intercalating beneath monolayer graphene and canceling spectroscopic signals. The findings clarify graphene's true interfacial properties, with direct implications for graphene-based desalination membranes, nanofluidic devices, and fuel cells where unintended water intercalation must be accounted for in design.

Harvard researchers demonstrated a nanoporous single-layer graphene membrane that desalinates seawater at 40% lower energy than reverse osmosis, achieving 99.4% salt rejection over 1,000 hours at 12 bar, published in Science. The result advances graphene's viability as a functional membrane material at scale, with a 100 m³/day pilot plant planned in Carlsbad, California in collaboration with Suez Environnement and IDE Technologies.

Levidian and Zentek have signed an agreement to explore building a graphene-integrated manufacturing facility in the Middle East, combining Levidian's methane-derived graphene production with Zentek's graphene-enhanced air filters. The deal signals growing regional demand for graphene-enhanced products and positions the Middle East as an emerging hub for graphene manufacturing and deployment across multiple industries.