Breathable membrane

I am a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental engineering. My project involves solving sanitation issues of urban slums in India using breathable membranes. We use a 55-gallon drum lined with this breathable membrane to serve as collection and storage for the fecal matter.

We have been pursuing modifications on the project design and plan to use a single sheet of this breathable fabric to balloon inside the 55-gallon drum when it is clamped at the rim of the drum. Unfortunately our current supplier for this membrane has a fabrication limit of 55-inch width, [and] we need at the least a width of 100 inches. Your name was suggested since I have hit a dead end with my search.

Can you please guide me toward a 100in.-width fabric supplier/manufacturer?

Ray | Delaware

Ray,

You have a noble project but I don’t think you want a geomembrane that is impermeable to both liquids and gases. Conversely, a geotextile is permeable to both liquids and gasses. You don’t want that either. What I think you want is the opposite of GORE-TEX®: a commercial product that allows air to enter but repels water.

We have tried for years for something that allows liquid flow but not gas. I don’t know what that is. Sorry.

Bob Koerner | GMA Techline