Mixed Matrix Membranes for Gas and Liquid Separation Applications

本提案将着眼于吸附和膜系统的基础应用，将这些过程结合起来用于分离应用，通过研究可再生能源来提高我们社会的可持续性。在这个研究项目中，我将研究的分离技术应用于从垃圾产生的垃圾填埋气中生产天然气，以及从农业副产品中生产生物丁醇，并将其混合到汽油中。对于垃圾填埋气体的应用，我将研究甲烷、二氧化碳和氮气的分离。对于生物丁醇的生产，我将考虑将其从发酵罐的液相发酵液中分离出来。

This proposal will look at the application of the fundamentals of adsorption and membrane systems, to the combination of these processes for the separation applications that will improve the sustainability of our society by looking at renewable energy sources. The separations that I will look at in this research program have applications in production of natural gas from landfill gas that is produced by garbage, and production of bio-butanol from agricultural by-products for it to be blended into gasoline. For the landfill gas application, I will study separation of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases. For the production of bio-butanol, I will consider its separation from the fermentation broth in the liquid phase in the fermenter. Major objective of this proposal is to design membrane separation systems based on mixed matrix membrane (MMM) materials using adsorbents and polymers in their structure. This research program will start with adsorbent and polymer screening experiments that will be carried out to determine the potential materials to be used for the preparation of mixed matrix membranes (MMM's). Separation characteristics of these different membranes containing different adsorbent materials and polymers in the MMM's structure will be determined at different operating conditions, as well as at different fractions of adsorbents and polymers in the MMM structure. Mechanistic models will be developed to improve our understanding of the mass transfer mechanisms that take place with these separation processes in the gas and in the liquid phases. I will be able to use the fundamental knowledge of adsorption and membrane systems that I gained over the years, to the design of MMM materials, to improve their applicability in separations that will make our society more sustainable. 2 Ph.D. students and 1 M.A.Sc. student will take part in this research program, as well as 2 undergraduate Co-op students per year. The results obtained in this study will significantly advance our knowledge of membrane separation processes. It will make the above mentioned separation systems more economically viable. If bio-butanol obtained from agricultural by-products is used in automotive industry, instead of gasoline, the use of fossil fuels in society will reduce substantially. Also, if natural gas, which is mostly the methane gas, is obtained from landfill gas, instead of from fossil fuels, our society will be a more sustainable one.