The development of membrane technology, which aims to achieve a significant reduction in carbon emissions, will be a promising future direction for the chemical industry. A collaborative research team led by Professor Sheng Guo from Nanjing University (NJU) and Professor Ryan P. Lively from Georgia Tech (GT), has developed new polymer membranes that demonstrate how advanced materials can potentially revolutionize fuel and chemical processing. This work, which was published in the January 10 edition of Science titled “Fluorine-Rich Poly(Arylene Amine) Membranes for the Separation of Liquid Aliphatic Compounds”, highlights the potential for achieving distributed and energy-efficient production of liquid hydrocarbons, such as sustainable aviation fuels and chemicals. This research represents a critical step towards achieving a more sustainable chemical industry.
Link to the paper:
Title: Fluorine-Rich Poly(Arylene Amine) Membranes for the Separation of Liquid Aliphatic Compounds
Abstract:
We explore the potential for membrane materials to reduce energy and carbon requirements for the separation of aliphatic hydrocarbon feedstocks and products. We developed a series of fluorine-rich poly(arylene amine) polymer membranes that feature rigid polymer backbones with segregated perfluoroalkyl side chains. This combination imbues the polymers with resistance to dilation via hydrocarbon immersion without the loss of solution-based membrane fabrication techniques. These materials exhibit good separation of liquid phase alkane isomers at ambient temperatures. The integration of these polymeric membranes into fuel and chemical feedstock separation processes was investigated in a series of experiments. Technoeconomic analyses based on these experiments indicate that the best-performing membrane materials can substantially reduce the energy costs and associated carbon emissions of hydrocarbon separations (2-10x, depending on product specifications).
