Arsheen Allam

President, GOLeafe

Arsheen has a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from NC State University, class of 2012. She took a year off upon graduating to continue her research full-time, then went back and got her Master's in Global Innovation Management. Her first company, CNanoz, which produces nanotechnology based carbon filters has commercialized its product in India and is looking to expand its business in the United States. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Duke University and working on her graphene ventures for water desalination and energy applications.

Reduced Graphene Oxide Based Membrane that acts as Molecular Sieve for Desalination

Water from land based sources is becoming scarce due to rapid population growth and increased demand in industries. The large amount of water in the oceans around the world has immense potential to meet this growing demand. Current reverse osmosis process requires huge investment in equipment and is very energy intensive making it economically viable for only a select few countries with financial resources. GO Leaf has developed a reduced graphene oxide based membrane which acts as a molecular sieve to prevent sodium and chloride ions from passing through the graphene inter layer channels. These inter layer channels, which are less than 9 angstroms in diameter, allow just the water molecules to pass through. This membrane does not require any polymer based encapsulation to prevent the channel size from increasing due to exposure to water. The current prototype is under testing to optimize performance, before the start of the pilot. Also as part of the current prototyping phase, GO Leaf is evaluating durable non-woven materials to serve as the substrate.