| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M50751/01 |
| Title: |
MEMBRANE REACTORS FOR PHASE TRANSFER CATALYIC PROCESSES- WASTE MINIMISATION FINE CHEMICALS/PHARM'CALS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Livingston, Professor A |
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| Department: |
Chemical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 July 1999 |
Ends: |
30 June 2002 |
Value (£): |
175,619
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| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Phase transfer catalytic processes use phase transfer agents (PTAs) to introduce charged nucleophiles into apolar organic molecules. PTAs are difficult to recover by conventional means, can contaminate the product stream, and are often disposed of off-site. This research project aims to develop novel membrane reactor configurations for recovery of PTAs. Two approaches will be adopted (i) nanofiltration of the product phase to recover the PTAs and (ii) retention of the PTAs by trapping them in the pores of hydrophobic asymmetric membranes. The feasibility of these approaches will be established, and interactions between the size of the PTA, membrane pore sizes, and reaction rates, will be investigated. The use of membrane contactors to stabilise interfaces between the aqueous and organic phases in phase transfer reactions will also be investigated using both hydrophobic and hydrophilic membranes. Two model systems will be used in these investigations, one of them an intrinsic reaction rate controlled system, and the other a transfer rate controlled system. In the last stage of the project, bench scale systems will be set up to perform continuous phase transfer reactions, and mass balances will allow benchmarking of waste generation in the membrane systems to conventional stirred tank reactors.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| 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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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |