The Tough Tech problem we are solving
Industrial liquid separation consumes a whopping 15% of all U.S. energy consumption, roughly the same amount as all the gasoline used for transportation. These separation processes are used to make food, pharmaceuticals, plastics, resins, chemicals, and hundreds of commodity goods. Today, many separation processes involve boiling off liquids at different boiling points. This expensive and energy intensive process could be eliminated with better membranes to filter liquids for different chemicals instead.
About our solution
Via Separations’ membrane technology uses up to 90% less energy than traditional evaporation or distillation because it is a physical separation, rather than a thermal process. Our membranes work like a coffee filter or pasta strainer, but for chemicals. Via’s membranes are made of a unique material called graphene oxide (GO). GO is an extremely stable material, meaning our membranes can withstand high temperature, corrosive process conditions where typical polymer membranes would quickly fail.