Aims and Objectives of the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology

Mission Statement

• To foster the exchange of information at an international level on the development and application of membranes for the benefit of all.
• To promote the application of membrane science and technology to improve the quality of life, particularly in developing countries.
• To provide training in research and application of membranes for the next generation of science and engineering graduates from developing countries, in Asia and Africa and elsewhere.
• To conduct research and development which will lead to the next generation of membrane-based devices.
• To foster the exchange of information at an international level on the development and application of membranes for the benefit of all.
• To promote fundamental research into membrane processes, particularly at the molecular level, in both living and synthetic s ystems.
• To provide a permanent vehicle for the interplay between scientists, engineers and students from various countries, particularly from Asia and developing regions.
• To provide a real sense of the concept of the `Global Village' - solving common problems using a generic technology which is environ mentally friendly and biologically inspired.

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Research Objectives

A balance is maintained between the fundamental research and more applied studies. The former are principally funded through Australian Research Council (ARC) grants. The latter are largely funded by other agencies such as Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) and industry.

The research objectives of the Commonwealth Special Research Centre include:

• Physico-chemical characterisation of the structure, properties and transport mechanisms in synthetic membranes.
• Development of sustainable membrane processes for environmental and industrial applications
• Development of improved engineering aspects of membrane module design, operation and process control.
• Development of novel membranes and membrane processes.
• Development of methods to overcome or control the deposition and attachment of solutes and biofilms (fouling) during separation processes.
• Development of instruments and procedures for the characterisation of membranes, in particular for monitoring and control membranes during process operation.

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