Membrane-based fractionation of complex mixtures
Professor Ryan P. Lively, Associate Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Director, Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-Induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME) an Energy Frontier Research Center of the US Department of Energy
Abstract
The rapid increase in global industrialization necessitates technology shifts in energy production, manufacturing, and carbon management techniques. Approximately 10-15% of global energy use can be attributed to separation processes, with the vast majority of separations being “thermal” in nature (e.g., distillation). Membranes can augment or potentially disrupt incumbent technologies, but issues of perceived risk/reliability, scalability/cost, and performance must be addressed for membranes to move towards world-scale sectors such as hydrocarbon processing. The polymer processing platform for the creation of membrane devices is eminently scalable and has the potential to match the enormous volumes associated with chemical and petrochemical separations. Polymeric organic solvent reverse osmosis (OSRO) and organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes with the capabilities of fractionating complex mixtures have recently emerged and will be the focus of this talk. Specifically, we will discuss enabling materials for this separation challenge as well as methods to estimate the fluxes of various components in a complex mixture based on a relatively small number of single component experiments. Current challenges in the area of OSRO/OSN will be presented in addition to promising paths forward in this emerging area of membrane science.
Biography
Ryan Lively received a B.S. and Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology working with Prof. William J. Koros. This was followed by a post-doctoral research position at Algenol Biofuels under the guidance of Dr. Ronald R. Chance. He joined the faculty of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018. His current research seeks to advance fluid separation processes critical to the global energy infrastructure. In particular, his research group investigates fundamentals of adsorption and diffusion in polymeric and microporous materials as well as the design of fiber-based separation devices. He has received a variety of awards for his research efforts including the 2018 Kunesh Award from the AIChE Separations Division, a 2018 DOE Early Career Award, the 2020 Allan P. Colburn Award from the AIChE, and the 2022 Curtis W. McGraw Award from the ASEE. He is currently the John H. Woody Faculty Fellow and serves as an Editor for the Journal of Membrane Science and on the North American Membrane Society’s Board of Directors. In 2020, he was appointed as Director of the Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-Induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME), an Energy Frontier Research Center of the US Department of Energy. He has over 130 publications in the field of separations including articles in Science, Nature, and Nature Materials.
Access the seminar
Zoom webinar link: https://imperial-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97084878572?pwd=Z0Nzdk9SNE9HTDJXSVBGMU1lVk9vQT09
Webinar ID: 970 8487 8572
Passcode: Mem@2022