Army Patents New Water Filtration System

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The United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center has recently developed a new water recycling system. The system works by filtering and cleaning used wastewater. The Decontamination Effluent Treatment System is capable of filtering up to 600 gallons of water per hour.

One of the benefits that came as a byproduct to the water filtration system is the development of a new filter membrane used to filter the water made of graphene oxide. Graphene oxide is a special material that self assembles in layers, therefore creating narrow channels ideal for water filtration.

Even though graphene oxide works great for water filtration, it is still a very expensive material. With a price tag of approximately $250 per gram, the developers of the filtration system wanted to find a way to recycle the material and lower production costs.

To address this problem, the developers used chitosan, a material made of crustacean shells and is considered inexpensive. By binding chitosan to graphene oxide the developers managed to create a recyclable membrane.

Besides the military use of the water filtration system, it also brings up several business opportunities to American companies. Last September, the Army has been granted a U.S. patent for the recycling idea and another patent is currently pending for the filter membrane. Both developments are available to American companies to use for developing new products. Private businesses can now leverage the Army’s research and development work to integrate military inventions into their own products and services, according to Techlinkcenter.org.