Filter with Potential to Slash Energy Consumption

Scientists from Imperial College London (ICL) have developed a prototype membrane for filtering liquids and gases, with the potential for wider use across industry and for cutting energy consumption.

The prototype is extremely thin – it would take a stack of ten thousand membranes to match the diameter of a human hair - making it very permeable. The nanoscale ‘crumpled’ structure provides increased surface area, making the membrane strong enough to filter organic liquids at pressures of around 50 bar, equivalent to the pressure at around 500 metres below the ocean’s surface. The membrane is durable and resistant in a range of organic solvents.

By creating a membrane with nanoscale crumples increasing its surface area, the researchers have established that the membrane remains strong and does not buckle even under extreme pressures. Confident that the 80millimeter prototype can be scaled up to meet industrial processing requirements, the researchers believe that this prototype membrane could improve or completely replace industrial processes that process organic solvents, which currently rely on evaporation and distillation techniques.

Professor Andrew Livingston, co-author of the study from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, said: “Membranes are currently used for a range of important tasks such as making water drinkable and life-saving kidney filtering. The drawback has been that industry hasn’t been able to use membranes in organic liquid systems more widely because they’ve had cost and design limitations. Our research suggests that we can overcome these challenges, which could make these membranes useful for industries ranging from pharmaceutical companies to oil refining. The energy and environmental benefits could be massive.”

Dr Santanu Karan, co-author also from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, added: “I am really excited about this research breakthrough. We now want to work even more closely with industry to further refine our membranes so that they can meet their needs. We hope our work will lead to new collaborations and ultimately, improvements in the way industries use separation processes.”