Chemical separation processes are essential for production, but they also consume high levels of energy. Penn Engineers is developing new membranes for energy-efficient membranes based on nanoscale separations, Chemical separation is more environmentally friendly.
Chemical separation processes are essential in the production of many products from gasoline to whiskey. Such processes are very expensive and cost about 10-15% of global energy consumption. In particular, the use of so-called “thermal separation processes”, such as distillation to separate hydrocarbon-based hydrocarbons, is deeply rooted in the chemical industry and has a very large associated energy footprint. Membrane separation processes have the potential to reduce such energy consumption.
Membrane filtration processes (Chemical separation is more environmentally friendly) that separate impurities from the air we breathe and the water we drink have become commonplace. However, membrane technologies for the separation of hydrocarbons and other organic materials are less developed. Researchers at Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science are developing new membranes for energy-efficient organic separations by rethinking their physical structure at the nanoscale.
Nanofiltration using self-assembling membranes has become an important area of research for Chinedum Osuji, President Professor Eduard D. Glandt at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and his laboratory. The performance of these membranes was highlighted in an earlier study that described how the structure of the membrane itself helped reduce the limiting compromise between selectivity and permeability we encounter with traditional nanofiltration membranes. This technology was also included in last year’s Y-Prize competition and the winners, through the LiberTech startup, are developing a case for its use in the production of non-alcoholic beer and wine. Today, Osuji’s latest study modifies the membrane for filtering organic solutions, such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol, and makes the molecules that make it more efficient than traditional nanofiltration with organic solvents. (UN).
A study published in Science Advances describes how the uniform pores of this membrane can be well cured by changing the size or concentration of the self-assembling molecules that ultimately form the material. . This tuning now opens the door to the use of this membrane technology to solve a wide range of real organic filtration problems.
