The graphene-based coating technology in POU water purification system is an economical solution for increased accessibility to clean drinking water.

United Kingdom. With the collaboration with Unilever, William Blythe, and G2O Water Technologies Ltd., Centre for Process Innovation has created a scalable process utilizing graphene oxide to filter water for use in next generation POU water purification systems. The thin coating of graphene oxide significantly enhances the permeability of filtration materials, allowing large performance increase with a low additional cost. The technology enables filtration of materials such as salts at a low-cost base which would have otherwise required more complex solutions, which may not be affordable to less-privileged sections of the society.

The development of affordable and effective water purification system technology is critical for addressing the global challenges of poor water quality, scarcity of water resources, and pollution from rapid industrialization and urbanization activities. The graphene-based water purifiers overcome the inherent limitations of conventional membrane materials to purify the contaminated water at economical costs and retaining high water flux to provide the next-gen water purification systems.

During the three years of developmental stages, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) worked with partners to create an industrially scalable process suitable with membranes. The expertise of CPI to generate the graphene oxide-based formulation and printed electronics played an instrumental role in proving the scalability of the coating process. The prototype module created by using coated membranes, prepared by G2O and CPI allowed the consortium to validate the enhanced performance, benchmarking it against the incumbent systems.

After completion of three-year project to develop a cost-effective water purification technology, Director of Formulation at CPI, commented, “We are delighted to have played our part in such an important project, which has the potential to address one of the world’s pressing problems – that around clean drinking water.  By developing key improvements to existing technology, we have demonstrated that UK innovation can not only help people locally, but also in the wider world.”

TechSci research said, “The low-cost water purification systems can provide access to clean drinking water channels, which could help to prevent the occurrences of water-borne diseases and reduce high mortality rates associated with it. The newly emerging technologies in water purification technologies can drive the growth of Global POE water purification systems in the coming years.”

According to TechSci Research report on “Global POE Water Purifiers Market By Type (Activated Carbon, Mechanical Filter, and Others), By Application (Residential, Commercial), By Sales Channel (Direct, Distributor), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2015 – 2025”, Global POE water purifiers market valued at USD17.5 billion in 2019 and registering a CAGR of 11.72%, the market value is set to reach USD31.14 billion by 2025. Rapid urbanization and industrial activities are leading to contamination of water resources and contributing to rising incidences of waterborne diseases. Increasing awareness about health and rising personal disposable income is pushing the demand for POE water purifiers through 2025. Additionally, government initiatives to provide access to clean water to vulnerable groups and increasing awareness about health are fuelling the growth of Global POE water purifiers market.