Nitrate is widely used as an artificial fertiliser, however its high solubility and stability means it has become concentrated in many ground-waters and other water sources, particularly in areas of the UK where arable farming or other intensive agriculture dominates. High concentrations of nitrate are associated with various health problems, including "Blue baby" syndrome, whereas even at lower concentrations, the presence of algal blooms (due to excessive nutrient supply into watercourses) poses a frequent problem. To counter these issues, the government has declared large swathes of England as "Nitrate Vulnerable Zones", which place special measures on farmers and growers in these regions and also affect developers (as sewage and other outflows from habitations also causes nitrate build-up). We therefore urgently need ways to reduce nitrate concentrations in water supplies, without necessarily compromising agriculture or other pressures on development. One route to achieve this is to develop cost-effective methods to remove nitrate from water supplies. This is where the lead applicants, Molymem, come in. The company is a recently formed spin-out from the University of Manchester, who have developed a membrane technology, based on the 2D materials which have been a key part of the research achievements at the University of Manchester. Molymem's technology, which is patent protected, is based on "nanoflakes" of a naturally occurring, stable material called Molybdenum disulfide. We have found that these "flakes" can be assembled into membrane structure, which are capable of removing ions (the constituents of salt) from water. The goal of this proposal is to test this approach with respect to the removal of the nitrate ion, which would be a hugely beneficial process for the reasons outlined above. We believe the approach would be cost-effective and we know of no directly competitive technology which is capable of achieving this goal. Nitrate removal otherwise requires adsorption and/or ion-exchange, which generates problems with the solids that cannot easily be regenerated. Another approach is via bacterial decomposition of the nitrate, but this also gives problems, especially with respect to the subsequent use of the water as potable water. Molymem are partnering with established companies/universities with long track records in the water treatment area, who will ensure that the research will be rapidly translated to the market.

Nitrate is widely used as an artificial fertiliser, however its high solubility and stability means it has become concentrated in many ground-waters and other water sources, particularly in areas of the UK where arable farming or other intensive agriculture dominates. High concentrations of nitrate are associated with various health problems, including "Blue baby" syndrome, whereas even at lower concentrations, the presence of algal blooms (due to excessive nutrient supply into watercourses) poses a frequent problem. To counter these issues, the government has declared large swathes of England as "Nitrate Vulnerable Zones", which place special measures on farmers and growers in these regions and also affect developers (as sewage and other outflows from habitations also causes nitrate build-up). We therefore urgently need ways to reduce nitrate concentrations in water supplies, without necessarily compromising agriculture or other pressures on development. One route to achieve this is to develop cost-effective methods to remove nitrate from water supplies. This is where the lead applicants, Molymem, come in. The company is a recently formed spin-out from the University of Manchester, who have developed a membrane technology, based on the 2D materials which have been a key part of the research achievements at the University of Manchester. Molymem's technology, which is patent protected, is based on "nanoflakes" of a naturally occurring, stable material called Molybdenum disulfide. We have found that these "flakes" can be assembled into membrane structure, which are capable of removing ions (the constituents of salt) from water. The goal of this proposal is to test this approach with respect to the removal of the nitrate ion, which would be a hugely beneficial process for the reasons outlined above. We believe the approach would be cost-effective and we know of no directly competitive technology which is capable of achieving this goal. Nitrate removal otherwise requires adsorption and/or ion-exchange, which generates problems with the solids that cannot easily be regenerated. Another approach is via bacterial decomposition of the nitrate, but this also gives problems, especially with respect to the subsequent use of the water as potable water. Molymem are partnering with established companies/universities with long track records in the water treatment area, who will ensure that the research will be rapidly translated to the market.

Worldwide, we are facing a water crisis with 17 countries, home to 1/4 of the global population, facing extremely high water stress. Demand for water is increasing and water resources are becoming scarce as a result of climate change, population growth, demographic changes and urbanisation. To meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for water (SDG 6), rate of progress needs to double. Nanofiltration membranes play an important role in the production of safe drinking water, with the ability to filter out several trace organic compounds, heavy metals and pollutants at a lower energy demand than reverse osmosis. Selectivity and resilience of nanofiltration membranes are critical metrics in drinking water production as they directly relate to customer risk, while water productivity and technology robustness are important to water utilities as they define capital cost, asset lifetime, and maintenance frequency. Polymeric nanofiltration membranes are widely used however, surface fouling, constraints on cleaning methods, mechanical breakage, and low membrane permeabilities make this an expensive solution, that can risk resilience in water supply putting customers and the operating water utility at risk. An increase in organics levels in raw water linked to climate change, population growth and tighter regulations on water quality, has also increased the strain on drinking water production by nanofiltration. This project seeks to develop and test a 2D advanced nanomaterial coating to create a resilient and more sustainable ceramic membrane nanofiltration technology for low-carbon drinking water treatment with a lower total cost of ownership. It leverages the expertise of Molymem Limited (University of Manchester spin out, developing a novel nanomaterial coating to be applied as a 2D advanced material structure for membrane filtration), specialists in ceramic filtration systems from Xtract Filtration Systems Limited, and academic experts in in the science, engineering and management of water at Cranfield University's Water Science Institute. The advanced ceramic nanofiltration technology will have major USPs in preventing/minimising fouling, decreasing the cleaning cycle, the ability to cope with fluctuations (temperature and pH) and lowering flux (pressure drop across the medium) for water treatment. All of these are important factors when it comes to increasing lifetime, improving sustainability and most importantly building an improved total cost of ownership model for users in the water industry.