Project Grant 2525902
- This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.041 - Engineering) provides $315,000 in funding to the University of Texas at Austin to develop polymeric membranes for use in low-cost filtration-type processes to improve the recovery of critical minerals from aqueous waste and process streams. The project aims to precisely control and measure the sizes of pores and voids in these membranes, and use computations and experiments to determine how suitable pore sizes...
- This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems Engineering Directorate provides $419,999 to Rice University from October 1, 2022 to August 31, 2025. The funding supports research to develop synthetic membranes for filtering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water to below 70 parts-per-trillion, as well as education and training. Specifically, the awardee will design recognition sites for anionic...
- This federal Project Grant award of $375,299, provided by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Materials Research under the CFDA 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences program, supports research to advance the understanding of nanostructure, ion affinity, and mobility in polymer membranes. The research aims to enable the design of improved polymer membranes for sustainable applications such as reverse osmosis water purification, chemical flow batteries, and lithium recovery....
- This $255,638 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support a collaborative research project to elucidate the role of ion dehydration in regulating the transport and selectivity of monovalent ions in polyamide nanofiltration (NF) membranes. The overarching goal is to explore a novel ion dehydration mechanism that can enable challenging separations, such as the extraction of lithium from brines, beyond the capabilities of current NF...
- This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will develop new materials and organisms capable of separating, recovering, and recycling critical minerals from waste streams. The $520,855 award to Arizona State University, which will be completed by April 30, 2028, aims to engineer biomaterials that can bind to critical minerals essential for manufacturing computers, cell phones, solar panels, batteries, and other electronics and...
- This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $549,733 awarded on February 15, 2022 will support the development of micellar nanofluids to reduce the use of harmful solvents in oil and gas production through January 31, 2025. Under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), William Marsh Rice University will work to produce a nanofluid containing aggregated colloidal nanoparticles that can significantly decrease the use of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene solvents, which are...
- This Project Grant award of $654,993 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research to develop selective membranes from lipid-polyelectrolyte complexes. The goal is to create synthetic membranes that can facilitate the selective separation of specific molecules, enabling applications like clean water production and safe pharmaceutical manufacturing. This interdisciplinary effort combines materials synthesis, molecular simulation, and machine...
- This $386,034 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of chemically resilient, fouling resistant polymer membranes for water separation applications. Funded under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the 24-month award to the University of Massachusetts Amherst enables fundamental research to manufacture porous polymer membranes using an all-aqueous process that eliminates toxic solvents currently used. The research aims to (1) develop a mechanistic understanding...
- This $299,973 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research to develop pore-engineered membranes using an in situ atomic layer deposition process for improved chemical separations. The key research objectives are to eliminate molecular-scale membrane defects, precisely tune membrane pore sizes, and introduce facilitating interactions between metal oxides and diffusing gases to maximize gas selectivity and permeance. The...
- This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program provides $156,400.00 to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) to conduct research on engineering selective membranes from lipid-polyelectrolyte complexes. The objective is to harness biology-inspired principles to create high-precision synthetic membranes for applications like water purification and pharmaceutical processing, while avoiding the use of toxic...
This federal Project Grant award, provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), supports the development of polymeric membranes for use in low-cost filtration processes to improve the recovery of critical minerals from aqueous waste streams. The $345,625 award to William Marsh Rice University, effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028, will focus on precisely controlling and measuring the sizes of pores and voids in these membranes. Through a combination of experiments and computer simulations, the research aims to understand how network heterogeneity in the polymer structures impacts ion transport and selectivity, ultimately enhancing the recovery of critical minerals. This work is expected to improve national security and economic competitiveness in critical minerals, as well as provide training and mentoring opportunities for teachers and community college students on modern separation technologies.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $345.6k | 8/18/25 |