Innovative 3D printed membranes

Nano Sun has opened a 3D printing facility in Singapore to manufacture a new kind of water treatment membrane. The plant is the fruit of an early research effort of Dr. Darren Sun, an Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, and Wong Ann Chai who founded Nano Sun focusing on treatment technology. 

 

Nano Sun has been designing and producing water treatment systems and plants which were exported and operated by different governments and companies in Singapore, China, the Philippines and Indonesia. Further works resulted in Nano Sun's launch of its own 3D printing facility – the first of its kind in Singapore - to produce a new water treatment membrane that will achieve more efficient and cost-effective yet advanced water treatment systems operations.  

 

 

This new membrane production is different from the usual membrane-manufacturing processes that utilise acid to make polymers more porous. To act as filters, Nano Sun 3D prints ultra-thin membranes consisting of millions of nano fibres. This helps the membrane achieve a faster water flow rate to lower cost for infrastructure, labour, and land, and enable the construction of smaller wastewater treatment plants. The innovative membrane also requires less maintenance, as it’s more resistant to biofouling from breakage.

 

The startup’s new plant has the support of Singapore Economic Development Board to fully deploy the research of Dr. Sun in advanced manufacturing, materials science, and water chemistry fields. 

 

Nano Sun has three new wastewater treatment contracts – a new municipal wastewater treatment plant in China that can treat up to 20 million litres of water a day and two of Singapore’s largest semiconductor multinational companies, which will be the first to try out the new 3D printed membrane. This will help increase the startup’s annual revenue to S$10 million in 2018, making it one of NTU’s most successful spin-off companies yet.

 

Commercialisation of Nano Sun’s 3D printing capabilities will help boost the industrial water solutions domain by helping it build new efficiencies and competencies, as well as complementing the country’s commitment to advanced manufacturing.  Nano Sun is also expected to expand its manpower over the next three years from a team of 18 Singaporeans to 80, and deploy its membrane applications throughout China, the Philippines, and Indonesia.