In the U.S., 12% of energy is consumed by industrial separations. Separation processes are ubiquitous in sectors ranging from chemicals to semiconductors to food and beverage, but many industries rely on legacy, energy-intensive, thermal technologies such as evaporation or distillation. Membrane separation systems have the potential to decrease the energy cost of separations by up to 90%; Via's membrane technology has the potential to eliminate nearly 20% of industrial emissions by displacing energy-intensive thermal separations with energy-efficient mechanical separations. Processing of black liquor—a byproduct of pulp production—alone accounts for 1% of U.S. energy consumption, and our novel technology tackles that 1% of energy use while decreasing the cost of production for our customers in the Pulp & Paper industry.

Via's membrane technology reduces the energy cost of industrial separations by replacing thermal separations with energy-efficient mechanical separations. We design both novel graphene-oxide based membranes as well as the large-scale filtration systems in which our membranes are used. Our membranes have an expansive operating regime that enables Via to bring membrane separations to new sectors; the graphene-oxide based active layer is effective at high temperatures, at extreme pHs, and in feed streams that are incompatible with other membranes. Furthermore, graphene-oxide provides a platform chemistry that can be tailored to meet customer requirements.

ARPA-e’s SCALEUP grant will accelerate Via’s product development timeline, so we can rapidly translate bench scale improvements into more efficient filtration systems, unlocking cost, energy, and emissions savings for an expanding number of paper mills.

Via’s team is comprised of chemists, materials scientists, and engineers skilled in harnessing cutting-edge materials for sustainable applications, along with an operations team adept at navigating the complexities of the clean energy sector. We take a materials approach to the world’s wasted energy, are optimistic about scientific progress, passionate about global impact, and creative in everything we do.

The DISPLACER project is accelerating the adoption of membrane separation as an energy efficient alternative to thermal processes such as evaporation and distillation. In the pulp and paper sector alone, implementation of membrane separations for black liquor concentration can decrease energy consumption by 80-90%, unlocking potential CO₂ equivalent reductions of >100 million metric tonnes per year domestically. The adoption of Via’s technology to reduce costs and emissions will help ensure that U.S. pulp and paper manufacturers maintain a competitive edge in a global market.