SINGAPORE – Two scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have been recognised for the development of a novel thin film composite hollow fibre membrane.
Professor Wang Rong and Professor Anthony Fane from NTU Singapore are recipients of the Alternative Water Resources Prize, one of the five prizes under the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW).
The membrane breakthrough combines forward osmosis with reverse osmosis to create a novel hybrid membrane systems, which has been credited for helping to reduce fouling and scaling in water processing.
An improved version of the membrane was recently identified by PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency, as one of the research projects with commercial potential.
The new membrane technology is also in trials with industry partners for the treatment of processed water in the oil and gas industry as well as for application in the food and beverage industry.
The Alternative Water Resources Prize awards a cash prize of US$133,000 (S$185,000) and covers research relating to areas such as wastewater treatment, water purification and cloud seeding. This year the prize received 32 nominations from more than 20 countries.
Professor Wang has over 20 patents for novel membrane fabrication and is also the founding president of the Membrane Society in Singapore.
Professor Fane was the founding director of the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre and is also a former member of the World Health Organisation's Desalination Guidelines steering committee.
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