UOB Publishes the First Joint Scientific Research in Cooperation with the British University of Oxford

In cooperation with the University of Oxford in Britain, researchers at the University of Bahrain (UOB) published the first joint scientific research in the Desalination Journal, which is considered one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the field of water desalination.

The research focused on the most important methods used in treating sea water desalination membranes using reverse osmosis technology, and finding effective solutions to extend the life of these membranes, in order to reduce the energy used in desalination, as it’s one of UOB’s concerns, to improve the efficiency of technologies used in the desalination process.

Reverse osmosis is a process in which water moves from the highest concentrated solution to the lowest concentration solution, through a semi-permeable membrane using pressure, and it is a process used to purify water by its passage through several stages after which the water would be separated from other salts and minerals.

However, the reverse osmosis technology used in Bahrain and the Arab Gulf region suffers of certain properties such as high salinity and large biological activity, which affect the efficiency of these membranes and increase the operational cost of these stations.

Therefore, the study sheds light on the most important characteristics of the membranes used in desalination technology, whether used in desalination of sea water, groundwater or water treatment in general, and results of the study showed that nanomaterials – such as mixed polymer compounds – significantly improve the performance of the desalination process. Also, the study sheds light on the scientific gaps that lead to not currently use nanotechnology on a larger scale in the manufacture of these membranes.

Participants in the research included each of Researcher and faculty member in the Physics Department at the College of Science at UOB and PhD student in Environment and Sustainable Development Basma Al-Najjar, Oxford student researcher Chris Peters, and Associate Professor at the University of Oxford in Britain, Dr. Nick Hankins.

Through its joint research cooperation with the University of Oxford in Britain, UOB seeks to reach the best effective and feasible solutions in the field of addressing the deterioration of the efficiency of membranes in water desalination, increasing its life span and reducing the energy used in this treatment.

It’s worth mentioning that the research cooperation agreement between UOB and the University of Oxford in Britain began in April 2018 and will extend for four years, as UOB has given directions for conducting its research related to water desalination systems with the University of Oxford in Britain and a number of prestigious universities interested in this field, in addition to having research partnership with governmental and other interested private entities.