Researchers develop Graphene Oxide membrane that could be used to create ‘forever chemical’-busting water filter. Yes, another funky use for the wonder material

As someone who’s been writing about cool developments in the tech space for far too long now, I’m quite familiar with graphene. I can’t go a few months without reading about some new use for this miraculous substance. Whether you’re wanting to make super thin almost immediately rechargeable batteries, create tiny hard drives with massive storage capacity, or mimic human synapses, graphene is your go-to-guy. Now a team of researchers from Australia’s Monash University have developed a graphene water filter that just might change the world.

Over the course of our lifetimes we consume a lot of stuff that really isn’t fond of the human body. It’s a human tradition. For our forefathers it was things like lead, coal dust, asbestos, and now we have microplastics and PFAS; things often referred to as forever chemicals because they just don’t leave or break down, and instead prefer to build up inside our flesh vessels.

PFAS are a big problem. They are a man-made chemical used in heat resistance and fire extinguishing chemicals quite widely, which has led to their buildup in places like waterways that provide drinking water. PFAS molecules have proved to be slippery little suckers, and traditional filters have only been able to remove about 35% of them, leaving the rest to keep flowing right into our taps.

“PFAS are difficult to manage because they dissolve easily in water and can spread far from their original source, making contamination challenging to contain and remediate. Removing small PFAS molecules from water has been a major hurdle for existing filters,” explains Monash PhD candidate, Eubert Mahofa.

“Our approach solves this by filtering out and concentrating these harmful chemicals while still allowing water to flow through efficiently, making it a strong candidate to supplement the technologies for PFAS destruction.”

The new beta-cyclodextrin (βCD) modified graphene oxide (GO-βCD) membrane with nanoscale channels developed by the researchers at monash is a game changer for this. Not only has the team managed to filter closer to 90% of PFAS in tests, they can also alter the graphene filter to selectively retain specific PFAS, and potentially other chemicals to deliver cleaner water.

“This breakthrough in PFAS filtration has the potential to revolutionise how PFAS contamination is managed globally, with applications ranging from landfill leachate treatment to industrial wastewater purification,” says Professor Mainak Majumder, Director of the Australian Research Council’s Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials.

“Our technology opens new possibilities for developing advanced nanofiltration membranes tailored to remove specific molecular species by selecting appropriate binding chemistries.”

Not only can it be calibrated, but thanks to the shear alignment printing technique used it should also be easy to scale up for use on large projects. Hopefully this means we’ll see the technology implemented to benefit communities large and small as soon as it’s deemed safe to do so. In the meantime, that’s still one more win for graphene, I can’t wait to see what miracles researchers can work with it next.