Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > LLNL Licenses Carbon Nanotube Technology To Local Company

Porifera’s Chief Technology Officer Olgica Bakajin helped create carbon nanotube technology while at the Laboratory.
Porifera’s Chief Technology Officer Olgica Bakajin helped create carbon nanotube technology while at the Laboratory.

Abstract:
Technology could be used for desalination

LLNL Licenses Carbon Nanotube Technology To Local Company

Livermore, CA | Posted on November 13th, 2009

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has exclusively licensed to Porifera Inc. of Hayward a carbon nanotube technology that can be used to desalinate water and can be applied to other liquid based separations.

Carbon nanotubes -- special molecules made of carbon atoms in a unique arrangement -allow liquids and gases to rapidly flow through, while the tiny pore size can block larger molecules, offering a cheaper way to remove salt from water.

"The technology is very exciting," said Olgica Bakajin, who serves as chief technology officer of Porifera. "It's at the right place to take it to the marketplace."

Bakajin formerly worked at LLNL where she was recruited in 2000 as a Lawrence Fellow and then moved on to become chief scientist on the carbon nanotube project along with LLNL chemist Aleksandr Noy, another former Lawrence Fellow. The license was awarded through LLNL's Industrial Partnership Office.

Porifera is developing membranes with vastly superior permeability, durability and selectivity for water purification and other applications in the clean tech sector such as CO_ sequestration. The technology is based on discoveries made at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Lawrence Livermore Lab.

The technology first took off when it was funded by Livermore's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program and supported by the Science and Technology Principal Directorate. Bakajin and Noy's research originally focused on using carbon nanotubes as a less expensive solution to desalination. The technique was first demonstrated using a nanotube membrane on a silicon chip the size of a quarter.

Recently, the team made up of Bakajin and Noy as well as another LLNL scientist, Francesco Fornasiero, and Porifera scientists Sangil Kim and Jennifer Klare, thought about different applications for the nanotube membranes.

"Carbon sequestration has always been at the back of our minds, as unique properties of carbon nanotube membranes provide critical advantages for potential use in carbon sequestration applications," Noy said. Bakajin agreed the membranes would separate CO_ from nitrogen in power plant emissions. The membranes would transfer the two gases at a different rate so that the CO_ could be separated and sequestered. Sequestering CO_ is a key strategy to help curb global warming.

"We've known about the possibilities for this for quite some time," she said. "The reason it makes sense to do it is because of the unique nanofluidic properties of carbon nanotube pores. We believe that our approach will work and we're looking forward to working with the Lab on this."

Recently, the Laboratory, Porifera, and UC Berkeley received more than $1 million from the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop the carbon capture technique using the nanotubes.

ARPA-E's mission is to develop nimble, creative and inventive approaches to transform the global energy landscape, while advancing America's technology leadership. The grant is for two years.

"It's the first time that this kind of grant has been given," Bakajin said. "It's on us to show that it's really worth it. The agency's success is going to depend on how well we do. "

In conjunction with other partners, Porifera also secured $3.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a small, portable self-cleaning desalination system that could be used in the field.

"If we can really make this work it is a game-changing technology," Bakajin said. "The goal is to go for any waterŠit could take out contaminants. It's a real challenge, and the technology has great potential."

Porifera Inc. was founded in 2008 with the sole goal of commercializing carbon nanotube membrane technology. The R&D team includes the technology's original inventors.

####

About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (www.llnl.gov) is a national security laboratory that develops science and engineering technology and provides innovative solutions to our nation's most important challenges. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Anne M. Stark
(925) 422-9799

Copyright © Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Energy transmission in quantum field theory requires information September 13th, 2024

Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

Physicists unlock the secret of elusive quantum negative entanglement entropy using simple classical hardware August 16th, 2024

Single atoms show their true color July 5th, 2024

Possible Futures

Rice research could make weird AI images a thing of the past: New diffusion model approach solves the aspect ratio problem September 13th, 2024

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

Nanotubes/Buckyballs/Fullerenes/Nanorods/Nanostrings

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

TU Delft researchers discover new ultra strong material for microchip sensors: A material that doesn't just rival the strength of diamonds and graphene, but boasts a yield strength 10 times greater than Kevlar, renowned for its use in bulletproof vests November 3rd, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes July 21st, 2023

Announcements

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Patents/IP/Tech Transfer/Licensing

Getting drugs across the blood-brain barrier using nanoparticles March 3rd, 2023

Study finds nanomedicine targeting lymph nodes key to triple negative breast cancer treatment: In mice, nanomedicine can remodel the immune microenvironment in lymph node and tumor tissue for long-term remission and lung tumor elimination in this form of metastasized breast cance May 13th, 2022

Metasurfaces control polarized light at will: New research unlocks the hidden potential of metasurfaces August 13th, 2021

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Announces Closing of Agreement with Takeda November 27th, 2020

Environment

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Catalyzing environmental cleanup: A highly active and selective molecular catalyst and electrified membrane: Innovative electrochemical catalyst breaks down trichloroethylene pollutants at unprecedented rate September 13th, 2024

$900,000 awarded to optimize graphene energy harvesting devices: The WoodNext Foundation's commitment to U of A physicist Paul Thibado will be used to develop sensor systems compatible with six different power sources January 12th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

Energy

Unveiling the power of hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures August 16th, 2024

Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024

Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024

Shedding light on unique conduction mechanisms in a new type of perovskite oxide November 17th, 2023

Water

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Computational system streamlines the design of fluidic devices: This computational tool can generate an optimal design for a complex fluidic device such as a combustion engine or a hydraulic pump December 9th, 2022

Taking salt out of the water equation October 7th, 2022

Scientists capture a ‘quantum tug’ between neighboring water molecules: Ultrafast electrons shed light on the web of hydrogen bonds that gives water its strange properties, vital for many chemical and biological processes July 8th, 2022

Alliances/Trade associations/Partnerships/Distributorships

Manchester graphene spin-out signs $1billion game-changing deal to help tackle global sustainability challenges: Landmark deal for the commercialisation of graphene April 14th, 2023

Chicago Quantum Exchange welcomes six new partners highlighting quantum technology solutions, from Chicago and beyond September 23rd, 2022

CEA & Partners Present ‘Powerful Step Towards Industrialization’ Of Linear Si Quantum Dot Arrays Using FDSOI Material at VLSI Symposium: Invited paper reports 3-step characterization chain and resulting methodologies and metrics that accelerate learning, provide data on device pe June 17th, 2022

University of Illinois Chicago joins Brookhaven Lab's Quantum Center June 10th, 2022

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project