Advanced membrane technology
Selective separation that could make your process simpler
CilliumFluX is developing advanced membrane technology for difficult industrial liquid separations.
Our aim is to introduce greater selectivity at the points where existing processes become expensive, complex or inefficient, helping reduce unnecessary processing while improving the recovery and purification of valuable materials.
The technology is at an early stage of development. We are looking for industrial and technical partners to help us identify where greater selectivity could create the greatest real-world value.
02 / Benefits
Fewer steps. Less waste. More value.
Complex industrial separations can rely on multiple stages of conditioning, precipitation, extraction, purification, polishing and reprocessing. Each additional stage can consume chemicals, energy, water and time. It can also create waste, increase maintenance requirements and introduce opportunities for valuable material to be lost.
CilliumFluX is developing selective membrane technology intended to simplify some of these duties by introducing greater separation precision at carefully chosen points within the process.
Development targets
Fewer process stages
Lower chemical burden
Reduced energy and water demand
Less waste and wastewater
Reduced repeat processing
Improved recovery of valuable materials
Lower operating complexity
Better use of existing process capacity
These are the outcomes we are designing towards. The extent of any benefit will depend on the individual process, which is why understanding the customer’s actual separation problem comes first.
03 / Approach
Start with the problem, not the membrane
We do not begin by deciding where our technology should fit into your process. We begin by understanding where the process is difficult.
Where are valuable materials being lost?
Which impurities create downstream problems?
Which stages consume disproportionate amounts of chemicals, energy or water?
Where is material being reprocessed?
Where do recycle or purge streams become difficult to manage?
Where could greater selectivity remove a bottleneck or simplify the flowsheet?
Only then do we assess whether a more selective separation could create meaningful value.
Designed to complement existing processes
CilliumFluX is not being developed to replace complete industrial process flows. Our objective is to introduce selective separation at specific points where it could simplify, improve or intensify an existing process.
Potential roles include selective recovery, impurity removal, intermediate purification, concentration before downstream recovery, product polishing, and process-liquid recovery or recycling.
04 / Technology
The science behind the opportunity
CilliumFluX works at the intersection of advanced selective materials and membrane engineering.
Our research includes highly selective porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, alongside related material systems.
These materials offer significant potential for selective molecular and ionic separation. The challenge is translating promising material-level behaviour into practical technology capable of operating reliably in demanding industrial environments.
That transition from selective material to useful industrial separation is central to the CilliumFluX development programme.
Industrial performance matters as much as selectivity
A membrane is not valuable simply because it can distinguish between two species in a laboratory test. For industrial use, selectivity must ultimately be accompanied by practical performance.
Development considerations
- Selectivity
- Useful throughput
- Chemical resistance
- Repeatable performance
- Fouling and cleaning behaviour
- Practical lifetime
- Manufacturability
- Process integration
- Operating economics
We are considering these requirements from the beginning rather than treating industrialisation as a problem to solve after the science has been demonstrated.
05 / Lithium
Starting with lithium
Our first development programme focuses on selective lithium separation within critical-material recovery processes, including battery recycling.
Battery-recycling hydrometallurgy provides a demanding development environment: complex mixtures, valuable materials and multiple separation and purification stages.
We are investigating where greater selectivity could reduce process burden, retain more valuable material and simplify downstream operations.
Lithium is the starting point, not the limit of the technology.
06 / Work with us
What we are looking for from partners
- Discussion of real separation constraints and process pain points.
- Non-confidential process requirements and operating ranges where appropriate.
- Customer-defined performance and acceptance criteria.
- Representative feed or sample access where practical and appropriately controlled.
- Potential laboratory, pilot or validation collaboration as the technology develops.
07 / Contact
Where are the bottlenecks in your process?
If selective separation is limiting throughput, increasing chemical use, generating unnecessary waste, causing valuable-material losses or adding complexity to your process, we would like to understand the problem.
You do not need to know whether a membrane is the answer. Tell us the separation challenge and we will explore whether CilliumFluX could be part of the solution.