Membravo’s advanced polymer membranes enable high-efficiency separation of gases and liquids under harsh industrial conditions. Our hollow fiber membranes are engineered to handle high temperatures and aggressive chemicals, enabling cost-effective recovery of hydrogen, helium, solvents, chemicals and critical minerals across a range of industry verticals.
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Milad Yavari
Milad Yavari is the co-founder and CTO of Membravo. Previously, he worked as a research engineer at SRI International, where he developed technologies for water treatment, hydrogen separation, and carbon capture. Yavari earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the SUNY University at Buffalo, focusing on the properties of polymers for gas separation membranes.
Joe Sawa
Joe Sawa is the co-founder and CEO of Membravo, which develops advanced membranes to reduce waste and energy use across industrial processes. He previously spent more than a decade in industry, working in energy and hydrogen. Sawa holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where he focused on energy and sustainability.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Separation technologies are fundamental to countless industrial processes. But conventional methods often fail in harsh environments or require energy-intensive steps, leading to wasted products, high operating costs, and unsolved bottlenecks in system design. Membravo addresses this unmet need by delivering rugged, high-performance membranes that thrive where others degrade - unlocking efficient recovery and purification in extreme conditions.
Technology Vision
Membravo’s hollow fiber membranes are made from proprietary polymers designed for both gas and liquid separations at high temperature and chemical exposure. Acting like selective molecular sieves, they enable efficient recovery of valuable species such as hydrogen, helium, solvents, and chemicals without the need for cooling, drying, or pressure swing processes. Field-tested and modular, the membranes are easily integrated into existing infrastructure and scalable across industrial platforms - offering a long-term solution for sustainable and high-efficiency separations.
Potential for Impact
Membravo’s platform technology has the potential to reshape the industrial landscape. In hydrogen-intensive industries like refining and steel, our membranes can recover billions in lost product while cutting emissions. In the semiconductor, pharma, and critical materials sectors, they enable cleaner, more efficient manufacturing and extraction. And in water and wastewater treatment, they open new avenues for selective removal and reuse. As industries face mounting pressure to reduce waste and boost efficiency, Membravo offers a path forward with scalable, versatile separation technology.
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