DMREF: Combinatorial Methods to Enable Rapid Prototyping of Pervaporation Membranes for Bio-Alcohol Recovery

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This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) grant provides funding for a synergistic program of combinatorial experiments, molecular simulations, and theoretical modeling aimed at making advances in the design of pervaporation membrane materials. Pervaporation is an energy-friendly process for separation of liquid mixtures that works by preferentially transporting one of the liquid components across a selective membrane into the vapor phase on the other side. Molecular insights regarding structure-function relationships in membrane materials will be obtained by studying water-alcohol separation as the model application. The work will focus on crosslinked polyacrylate copolymer membranes that offer a high degree of tunability in chemical composition compared to traditional silicone-based membranes. High-throughput experimental screening methods consisting of matrix-based sample preparation and testing of membrane properties will be combined with molecular simulations of water and alcohol diffusion rates to quantify membrane performance. Through data-driven validation, a novel theoretical framework for membrane performance will be developed, providing predictive capabilities for rapid design of pervaporation membranes for separation applications. Pervaporation provides a cost effective alternative to the traditional energy-intensive, multi-stage distillation processes that are used for the purification of biofuels and fuel additives. This research could significantly reduce the production costs of fuels derived from renewable resources. The rapid prototyping methods to be developed will also be applicable to the design of materials for other important pervaporation applications such as desalination of water, dehydration of fuels, and removal of organics from wastewater streams. In addition to these societal benefits, the project will also have broad educational benefits through K-12 outreach activities, training of undergraduate and graduate researchers from diverse backgrounds, as well as database development for public dissemination of research findings.