EPSRC Reference: |
EP/C511174/1 |
Title: |
New Generation Membranes For Molecular Separations In Organic Liquids |
Principal Investigator: |
Livingston, Professor A |
Other Investigators: |
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Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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Project Partners: |
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Department: |
Chemical Engineering |
Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
Starts: |
03 October 2005 |
Ends: |
02 October 2008 |
Value (£): |
321,837
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EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
Materials Characterisation |
Materials Processing |
Materials Synthesis & Growth |
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EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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Related Grants: |
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Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) is an exciting new tool for molecular level separations in organic solutions, with many possible applications across chemical and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. There are currently very few solvent stable membranes, and none available which offer stability and practical fluxes for polar aprotic solvents such as DMF and DMSO, or mixtures of these solvent s with water. In this proposal, we propose the development of controlled nanostructure membranes, whose permeation path dimensions can be controlled, and which are completely insoluble in the above solvent systems. We will develop an entirely new approach to OSN membrane formation, using heteroaromatic polymers to form membrane separating layers, and a casting-imprinting-process (CIP) to allow precise engineering of the permeation path dimensions. We expect that the detailed nano-scale engineering of getting our imprinting template molecules into, and out of, the membrane will be a major challenge and we want to test a new approach, the use of degradable templates, for this purpose. We intend to develop surface science techniques for characterising the resulting membrane separating layers, and to use a phenomenologically based model to relate the chemical nature of the polymer, and the nano-structure of the membrane, to the permeation properties of solvents and solutes.
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
Summary |
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Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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Project URL: |
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Further Information: |
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Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |