3D printing has come a long way in the past few years. Printers that once could only produce thick plastic can now churn out flexible material, metal, and now even semi-permeable membranes.Researchers at the University of Bath assessed 3D printers’ ability to work with membranes to evaluate the potential to 3D print membranes in the future, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Membrane Science. Membranes are useful in the water treatment industry for reverse osmosis treatment used in desalination and recycled water purification, among other uses. But creating one is particularly difficult, and they can usually only be built as a hollow tube or a flat membrane because of the setup of current manufacturing methods. 3D printing could change all of that.

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