In August ECN researcher Dr. Rob Kreiter received the Donald R. Ulrich award for his outstanding contribution to the development of sol-gel chemistry. Kreiter, who works at the unit Efficiency & Infrastructure, was strongly involved in the development of HybSi® membranes into a commercially viable product. The great advantage of membrane techology, compared to existing technologies, is the considerably lower energy consumption required for separating mixtures.
HybSi® membranes are made from an organic-inorganic hybrid material. They have been developed in close collaboration with the universities of Twente and Amsterdam. Membranes can, for instance, be used to separate water from organic solvents. The process is down to the pores of the membranes and, compared to the distillation process, relatively little energy is required for this separation technology. The main limitation of existing membranes was their instability in high temperature environments. Kreiter and the Membrane Technology group have achieved breakthrough results impressively increasing the stability of the membranes. The presentation of the Ulrich award during the international Sol-Gel Conference on August 27th 2009 in Brazil, is indeed the scientific recognition for this ECN success.
Membrane technology is an attractive separation technology, because less energy and space are required compared to conventional separation technologies. Initially, the focus regarding possible applications was on dehydration of organic solvents. Now that the researchers have demonstrated the exceptional stability of the membranes, other potential applications come into view. The separation of hydrogen from gas mixtures for example, a process of importance for CO2 capture when using fossil fuels. Visit the website of HybSi® (www.HybSi.com) for more information (in English) on these promising membranes.
Contact
Rob Kreiter
ECN Efficiency & Infrastructure
Membrane Technology
Tel: 022 456 4377
E-mail: Rob Kreiter
Info
Visit www.HybSi.com for more information.
