International Collaboration

The Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology (MaFTech center) actively promotes and participates in sorts of international co-research and education projects. In this page we lists up our major international projects in recent 5 years. 

▼JSPS Bilateral Programs（Joint Research　2022～2024）

• Research Topic：Precise construction of sub-nanometer channels in graphene-based membranes for molecular separations
• Participating Universities：Kobe University（Japan）とNanjing Tech University（China）
• This project will further the collaboration between scientists from Japan and China and reinforce the interdisciplinary research in chemical engineering and chemistry, especially on membrane separations. The collaboration between both sides will have complementary advantages, where Japan side has experiences in synthesis of 2D materials and membrane desalination, and the NajingTech team has experiences in materials processing and 2D membrane engineering. The successful implementation of this project will contribute to the developments of GO membranes and other 2D- material membranes for separation processes including gas separation for ethylene and seawater desalination for drinking water. Ethylene is used everywhere in daily products and drinking water is essential for livings. From these aspects, the project meets several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) proposed by the United Nations, which are the No.6 clean water and sanitation and No. 7 affordable and clean energy.
• Reference links
  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Bilateral Program Info Page
  Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology
  Membrane Science & Technology Research Center, Nanjing Tech University

▼UTSーUCーKobeU Joint Research Project（2021〜2023）

• Research Topic：Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes
• Participating Universities：University of Technology, Sydney（Australia）、University of Calabria（Italy）、Kobe University（Japan）
• The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkjet printing process. The membrane will be resistant to organic solvents while efficiently recovering valuable and hazardous organic solvents with minimum environmental footprint. It will effectively provide for the future growth of the Australian pharmaceutical industry while also having global applications.

▼JICA Collaborative Education Program (CEP) (2019〜2021）

• Project Title：Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net)
• Participating Organizations：University of Technology, Malaysia（Malaysia）、Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology（Indonesia）、Prince of Songkla University（Thailand）、Kobe University（Japan）、KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation（Japan）
• Water-related problems are particularly acute in Asia. The global demand for freshwater is soaring as supply is becoming more uncertain. By 2025, the United Nations projected that half of the countries worldwide will face water stress or outright shortages. Water scarcity will lead to a set of consequences, including reduced food production and the loss of livelihood security. Thus, there is an urgent need for development of innovative, efficient and affordable water and wastewater treatment technologies. Water and Wastewater Treatment Engineering Research Consortium (WATER) will bring together the water and wastewater treatment R&D capabilities of ASEAN’s leading universities (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia [UTM] Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember [ITS]　and Prince of Songkla University [PSU], Japan’s public universities (Kobe University) and industrial expert in advanced wastewater treatment and regeneration, KUBOTA Corporation. WATER will be governed by Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), UTM and aims to develop the intellectual, practical and professional skills in the critical acquisition, analysis, interpretation and understanding of environmental engineering principles and issues, specifically on water and wastewater treatment. The consortium focuses on innovative research geared towards developing new technologies and practices that ensure mitigation of pollution for the benefit of human health and the environment.

▼KAUSTーUTS－Yale－KobeU Joint Research Project（2018～2021）

• Research Topic：Improving the efficiency of the osmotic desalination process by manipulating ion concentration polarisation
• Participating Universities：King Abdullah University of Science and Technology（Saudi Arabia）、Yale University（US）、University of Technology, Sydney（Australia）、Kobe University（Japan）
• Fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarcer all over the world. Desalination could play a significant role in meeting this increasing water demand. Despite significant reduction in energy consumption particularly with the reverse osmosis (RO) technology, desalination is still considered an energy intensive process. Energy therefore still remains a critical issue in desalination, which must be addressed to make desalination more affordable and low carbon footprint. This project targets on reducing energy consumption using Forward Osmosis (FO) technologies, and the development of emerging energy-efficient FO processes.