SmartFilter: A General Application, Non-Fouling, Universal Pollutant Filter

Overview

Non-Polar Organic Contaminants (NPOCs), including Chlorinated Organic Pollutants (Cl-OPs), oils, and Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene, Xylene (BTEX), are harmful contaminants that threaten marine environments and often bypass conventional filtration systems. Current filtration relies on physical separation through ultra-small pores that indiscriminately remove pollutants and harmless organic/inorganic matter. However, due to the polluted nature of wastewater and aquatic environments, these filters are easily fouled and clogged, making them ineffective, especially in developing regions. Instead of relying on size exclusion, this project introduces the Smart Filter, which selectively absorbs a wide variety of pollutants using a specialized oleogel coating. It captures contaminants thousands of times smaller than the pore size through thermodynamic surface free energy forces. This novel physical/chemical mechanism achieves over 99% removal efficiencies across thousands of liters of real wastewater while maintaining low cost, biodegradability, scalability, and modularity, addressing a critical gap in filtration of emerging contaminants.

Awards (2)

• Silver Medal
• Selected for CWSF 2026

Competition history

• CWSF 2026 Environment & Climate Change

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