Phase II IUCRC at New Jersey Institute of Technology: Center for Membrane Science, Engineering and Technology (MAST)

分离和净化过程对于生产生化、生物制药、化学品、药品、食品、气体/液体燃料、医疗保健产品、金属、饮用水、半导体芯片等至关重要。基于膜的分离/纯化工艺在制造此类产品中变得越来越重要。膜允许一种物质选择性地从膜一侧的一个相运输到膜另一侧的另一个相；通常，膜作为屏障有选择地阻止一个或多个物种通过（例如，针对有毒气体的膜基防护服）。这些物质可以是气/液相中的分子、溶液中的离子、大分子、纳米粒子、微米级颗粒。膜设备和工艺受到青睐，因为能耗低（例如，海水淡化），易于扩大规模（例如，天然气净化），占地面积小（例如，膜接触器），并且是肾透析中唯一可行的选择。新泽西理工学院（NJIT）的膜科学、工程和技术中心（MAST中心）致力于通过开发先进的膜和表征这些膜和工艺来解决特定的分离问题。NJIT网站为学生和年轻研究人员提供先进的教育、培训和研究机会，研究主题由MAST指定。赞助商：工业公司、国家实验室和联邦机构。MAST中心是一个以多所大学为基础的产学研合作研究中心，拥有三所大学。在工业咨询委员会（IAB）成员的指导下，MAST中心通过创新材料和工艺促进膜技术在当前/新兴工业应用中的应用，开展膜的基础研究；(2)保持膜材料和膜基分离工艺的技术领先地位，促进创新技术的商业化；(3)提供具有相关教育和研究经历的本科生、研究生和博士后。该中心的研究主题与IAB的兴趣一致：水处理，生物分离，膜制造和表征，有机溶剂处理，气体分离，屏障膜。NJIT的MAST中心来自四个学术部门的教师的研究重点是水处理，屏障膜，有机溶剂基系统处理和膜表征。NJIT MAST教师特别感兴趣的研究重点领域是：用于海水淡化的水处理膜、工业废水处理和利用新型膜回收化学品和金属、具有耐溶剂膜的有机溶剂基系统处理、用于化学和生物保护的屏障膜。研究先进的膜材料和结构，并将其结合到新的分离装置/方案中，以应对当前和潜在的膜用户遇到的具有挑战性的分离和净化需求。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Separation and purification processes are essential to production of biochemicals, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, drugs, food products, gaseous/liquid fuels, healthcare products, metals, potable water, semi-conductor chips among others. Membrane-based separation/purification processes are becoming increasingly important in manufacturing such products. A membrane allows selective transport of one species from one phase on one side of the membrane to another phase on the other side of the membrane; often a membrane acting as a barrier selectively blocks one or more species from going through (e.g., membrane-based protective clothing against toxic gases). The species may be molecules in gaseous/liquid phase, ions in solution, macromolecules, nanoparticles, micron-size particles. Membrane devices and processes are favored due to lower energy consumption (e.g., desalination), easy scale-up (e.g., natural gas purification), smaller footprint (e.g., membrane contactors) and are the only viable option in kidney dialysis. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) site of the Membrane Science, Engineering and Technology Center (MAST Center) is focused on solving specific separation problems by developing advanced membranes and characterizing such membranes and processes. NJIT site provides advanced education, training and research opportunities to students and young researchers on research topics specified by MAST Sponsors: industrial corporations, national laboratories and federal agencies.The MAST Center is a multi-university-based industry-university cooperative research center with three university sites. Guided by members of the industrial advisory board (IAB), MAST Center 1) conducts fundamental research in membranes via innovative materials and processes facilitating the use of membrane technology for current/emerging industrial applications; (2) sustains technological leadership in membrane materials and membrane-based separation processes and facilitates commercialization of innovative technologies; and (3) provides undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows with a relevant educational and research experience. The Center-spanning research themes aligned with IAB interests are: water treatment, bioseparations, membrane fabrication and characterization, organic solvent processing, gas separations, barrier membranes. NJIT's MAST Center faculty from four academic departments have their research focus on water treatment, barrier membranes, organic solvent-based system processing and membrane characterization. Research thrust areas of special interest to NJIT MAST faculty are: water treatment membranes for desalination, industrial effluent treatment and recovery of chemicals and metals by novel membranes, organic solvent-based system processing with solvent-resistant membranes, barrier membranes for chemical and biological protection. Research on advanced membrane materials and structures and their incorporation in novel separation devices/schemes are expected to respond to challenging separation and purification needs encountered by current and potential membrane users.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.