Phase II U. of Colorado Boulder Site: Center for Membrane Science, Engineering and Technology (MAST)

膜是一种选择性屏障，它允许一些小颗粒、分子或离子通过，但拒绝其他的。与化学分离中使用的常规工艺相比，膜基分离具有许多优点。它们通常更节能、更环保、更容易扩大生产规模，并且与工艺流更兼容，因此在广泛的关键应用中提供更低成本的分离，包括海水淡化、食品和饮料生产、制药加工和血液透析。MAST中心位于科罗拉多大学博尔德分校，致力于为未来的分离需求提供更先进的膜，并引领新分离工艺的发展。这项工作解决了关键的国家经济竞争力、国防和卫生需求。MAST中心是一个多校区的产学研合作研究中心，与科罗拉多大学博尔德分校（UCB）作为三个站点之一：(1)通过创新材料和工艺在膜领域进行基础和应用研究，以促进膜技术在当前和新兴工业应用中的应用；(2)保持美国在膜材料和膜基分离工艺方面的技术领先地位，并通过中心工业赞助商加速新型、可持续和创新技术的商业化；(3)为本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员提供卓越的教育和研究经验，使他们成为富有成效的专业人员。UCB的研究重点是新型膜材料和结构的开发，创新的膜表征技术，以及关于选择性分子运输机制和膜污染的基础和应用知识的产生。来自UCB五个学术部门的教师代表的技术专长集中在水，能源和屏障材料中的重要膜应用。

A membrane is a selective barrier that enables some small particles, molecules or ions to pass through but rejects others. Membrane-based separations offer a number of advantages over conventional processes used in chemical separations. They are often more energy efficient, more environmentally friendly, easier to scale-up for manufacturing, and more compatible with process streams, and thus provide lower-cost separation in a wide range of critical applications including sea water desalination, food and beverage production, pharmaceutical processing and blood dialysis. The University of Colorado Boulder site of the MAST Center is focused on providing more advanced membranes for future separations needs as well as leading the development of new separations processes. This work addresses critical national economic competitiveness, defense and health needs.The MAST Center is a multi-campus industry-university collaborative research Center with the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB) as one of the three sites that (1) conduct fundamental and applied research in the field of membranes via innovative materials and processes to facilitate the use of membrane technology for current and emerging industrial applications; (2) sustain U.S. technological leadership in membrane materials and membrane-based separation processes and accelerate commercialization by Center industrial sponsors of novel, sustainable and innovative technologies; and (3) provide undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers with a superior educational and research experience that will enable them to become productive and effective professionals. Research at the UCB site is focused on the development of novel membrane materials and structures, innovative membrane characterization techniques and the generation of fundamental and applied knowledge regarding selective molecular transport mechanisms and membrane fouling. The technical expertise represented by participating UCB faculty from five academic departments is focused on important membrane applications in water, energy, and barrier materials.