New material brings hydrogen fuel, cheaper petrochemicals closer to reality
Feb 2006
The University of Texas at Austin
High-Tech Sieve Sifts for Hydrogen
June 2006
National Science Foundation
Chemical and Engineering News Article on Membrane Research in our Laboratories
Chemical & Engineering News
October 3, 2005
Michael Freemantle
Membranes For Gas Separation
AIChE Conference, Cincinnati, OH. 30 October – 4 November 2005
AIChE Annual Conference 2005
Cincinnati, OH, 30th October – 4th November
Abstracts of Attendees
Conor Braman’s Abstract
Polymerization Induced Phase Separation and its effects on water uptake, flux, and other properties of Crosslinked Poly(ethylene glycol)
C. Braman, University of Texas
B. Freeman, University of Texas
T. Kai, University of Texas
D. S. Kalika, University of Kentucky
All current ultrafiltration membranes are finely porous and are, therefore, subject to fouling by particulates, organics, and other wastewater components, resulting in a dramatic decline in the water flux (Ho 1999). Our approach to enhancing the severely limited fouling resistance of conventional ultrafiltration membranes is based on coating them with highly water permeable, nonporous, fouling resistant polymers. Crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is used as the base material for the coatings because it is highly hydrophilic and has shown resistance to protein attachment (Ostuni 2001). [Read more…] about AIChE Conference, Cincinnati, OH. 30 October – 4 November 2005
Latest News from the Freeman Group August 2005
Scott Kelman and Scott Matteucci were both awarded prizes for their poster presentations at the North American Membrane Society in Providence, Rhode Island.
Roy Raharjo has returned from Kyoto University in Japan. He gave a presentation to the group about what he learnt during his time in Professor Toshio Masuda’s laboratories.
Alyson Sagle won a Ford Graduate Student Travel Award from the ACS PMSE division. She intends to use this to attending the upcoming ACS meeting in WAshington, DC. in August.
ACS Conference, Washington, DC. 28 August – 1 September 2005
ACS 2005 Conference
Washington, DC, 28th August – 1st September
Abstracts of Attendees
Alyson Sagle’s Abstract
Chlorine Resistance Studies on Membranes
NAMS Conference, Providence, RI. 11 – 15 June 2005
NAMS 2005 Conference
Providence, Rhode Island 11 – 15th June
Abstracts of Attendees
Scott Kelman’s Abstract
Crosslinking and Stabilization of High Fractional Free Volume Polymers for the Separation of Organic Vapors from Permanent Gases
S. Kelman, University of Texas at Austin
B. Freeman, University of Texas at Austin
High free volume polymer membranes are often very weakly size-sieving and, consequently, can remove large gas or vapor molecules from a gas mixture with smaller molecules. This capability finds application in reverse-selective gas separations such as VOC removal from permanent gas streams and monomer recovery from the exhaust of polymerization reactors. Poly(1-trimethysilyl-1-propyne) (PTMSP) is a stiff chain, high free volume glassy polymer well known for its very high gas permeability [1]. PTMSP also has outstanding vapor/gas selectivity. For example, the n-C4H10/CH4 mixed gas selectivity at 25oC is 35, which is the highest value ever reported for this gas pair [2]. Such properties make PTMSP an interesting material for vapor/gas separations. However, gas permeabilities in PTMSP are sensitive to processing history and time [3]. PTMSP undergoes significant physical aging, which is the gradual relaxation of non-equilibrium excess free volume in glassy polymers. PTMSP is also soluble in many organic compounds, leading to potential dissolution of the membrane in process streams where its separation properties are of greatest interest. These phenomena compromise the practical utility of PTMSP. [Read more…] about NAMS Conference, Providence, RI. 11 – 15 June 2005
