![\"Darrell-Patterson-Davide-Mattia\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/water\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2015\/03\/Darrell-Patterson-Davide-Mattia.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDr Darrell Patterson<\/a> and Dr Davide Mattia<\/a>, in our Department of Chemical Engineering<\/a>, are part of a collaboration between six UK universities that has been awarded a \u00a36m EPSRC grant over five years.<\/p>\n This funding will enable a collaborative project entitled \u2018From membrane material synthesis to fabrication and function\u2019 (SynFabFun), led by Newcastle University<\/a>, to establish a UK virtual membrane centre that will act to unite the UK membrane research community.<\/p>\n The programme will look at improving membrane performance in four main industry sectors important to the UK and worldwide: Energy, Manufacturing, Pharma and Water. In all these industries, membranes have the potential to, and in some cases already do, provide a lower energy alternative to existing separation technology, requiring significantly smaller capital costs.<\/p>\n Membranes are not yet widely used for some applications due to their operating costs, requiring periodic cleaning and, eventually, replacement. This is caused by the loss of permeability and\/or selectivity during service, and is due to both the membrane material changing and degrading (known as \u2018ageing\u2019) as well as a build-up of unwanted material on the surface of the membrane (known as \u2018fouling\u2019).<\/p>\n