Developing polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes for solvent-stable nanofiltration in biorefineries
- Persons involved: Mia Jurković (PhD Candidate), Wiebe de Vos (promotor), Nieck Benes (promotor), Hannah Roth (co-promotor), Mika Mänttäri (LUT), Joris de Grooth (NX Filtration), Carlos Pascoal Neto (RAIZ-Navigator)
- Duration: 2024-2028
- Funding: EUʹs programme for research and innovation – Horizon Europe, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 20004004
Introduction
In the transition away from a fossil fuel-based society, alternative sources of chemical building blocks are critical. The biorefining industry, which converts biomass into marketable products and energy, offers a sustainable alternative to traditional petroleum refineries. The success of biorefining strongly depends on separation processes, and membranes are an attractive option for process intensification. They can simultaneously separate, partially purify, and concentrate target compounds from complex biorefinery streams. In addition, membranes play a key role in closing water cycles and recycling solvents within biorefining processes [1, 2]. Among the different membrane-based technologies, nanofiltration holds great promise for biorefinery applications, as it provides a low-energy method for fractionating and/or concentrating relevant small organic molecules. However, there is still a lack of membranes that combine thermal and chemical stability with high permeability, while effectively separating molecules in the 200–1000 g mol⁻¹ range in various organic solvents over long timescales. To address these challenges, layer-by-layer self-assembly of charged polyelectrolytes on an oppositely charged porous support has emerged as one of the simplest, most versatile, and most environmentally friendly approaches for fabricating membranes with selective top layers. Since most of these so-called polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes are stable in harsh solvents, they are highly suitable for solvent-resistant nanofiltration [3, 4].
Key words
Biorefinery, Membranes, Nanofiltration, Polyelectrolyte multilayers, Solvent resistance
Technological/Scientific challenges
Membranes currently used in biorefineries are often adopted from other fields, such as water treatment. As a result, they suffer from several limitations, including poor resistance under harsh conditions and the selectivity–permeability trade-off. Separations in biorefining are more complex than in aqueous applications, since each solvent has specific interactions with both solutes and membrane materials. Developing membranes tailored specifically for biorefinery applications could enable more efficient separations and even entirely new biorefinery processes [1].
Research goals
This project aims to advance membrane technology adoption in the biorefining sector. The goal is to develop nanofiltration membranes based on polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) for efficient treatment of complex biorefinery streams. These membranes must withstand harsh conditions, including exposure to organic solvents commonly found in such streams, while enabling the concentration of small organic molecules and preventing the accumulation of undesirable salts. Using a layer-by-layer approach, oppositely charged polyelectrolytes are alternately deposited onto a porous support. This method allows precise tuning of PEM properties, which is essential for achieving both optimal separation performance and high chemical stability
References
- A. I. Schäefer, A. G. Fane, Nanofiltration: Principles, Applications, and New Materials, WILEY‐VCH GmbH. (2021)
- S. Ramaswamy, H.-J. Huang, B. V. Ramarao, Separation and Purification Technologies in Biorefineries: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, S., Front Matter (2013)
- S. Ilyas, N. Joseph , A. Szymczyk , A. Volodin , K. Nijmeijer , W. M. de Vos, I. F.J. Vankelecom , Weak polyelectrolyte multilayers as tunable membranes for solvent resistant nanofiltration, J. Membr. Sci. 514 (2016) 322.-331.
- N. Joseph, P. Ahmadiannamini, S. J. Pulluru, A. Volodin, I. Vankelecom, ‘Up-scaling’ potential for polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 492 (2015) 271–280.