System Builders - Device Assembly from Nanoporous Materials Developed from Current Platform Grant (EP/J014974/1)
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Chemical Engineering
Abstract
Separations demand more than half of all the capital and operating costs associated with processing industries. This is because separation is often achieved by boiling liquids to make them turn into a gas, or by diluting systems with large volumes of solvents and carrying out differential adsorption in a chromatography systems. These approaches are resource intensive and complex. Membranes might be used to simplify these problems. If a mixture of materials is pressed by pressure against a membrane, and the membrane is permeable to only some of the materials, then we can separate the
molecules that pass through the membrane from those that do not. This uses much less solvents and energy, and is less
complex than alternatives.
Not surprisingly, people have been interested in using membranes to separate and concentrate molecules for some time. A major success is in the area of desalination, where membranes are used to separate fresh water out of seawater. However, membranes are not generally used to separate organic mixtures, like crude oil, into its components, because there were no membranes stable in organic liquids. This has changed recently - research at Imperial College, supported by the platform grant "Molecular Builders: Constructing Nanoporous Materials" has developed membranes that are stable in most solvents, and offer high throughput rates and selectivity between molecules. These have been commercialised through an Imperial spin out company, Membrane Extraction technology, who began production on a small scale. This generated interest from large companies, who saw the potential for widespread use, and MET was acquired by Evonik Industries on 1 March 2010. Evonik MET made a substantial investment in a large scale manufacturing facility in West London, and the UK has become a world leader in the development and manufacture of advanced Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) membranes.
Now, we need to build on this initial success. We have developed innovative new materials with controlled micro-porous structure that lead to outstanding performance. But we have not yet developed the skills and knowledge to put these into devices and to use these devices in molecular separations that would be applicable in commerce and industry.
For the platform grant renewal period, we will revolutionise the device fabrication and application platforms. We will use the techniques we have created to manufacture composite materials and incorporate these into micro-devices such as columns, monoliths and modules. We will use the these devices to deal with separation problems that current membranes cannot reach, such as synthesis of pharmaceuticals in continuously operating reactors, production of DNA and RNA for therapeutic needs, and the separation of gases.
To succeed in this ambitious goal we will need to train our research team in a diverse range of techniques, most of which we do not have currently. We will do this by working with other research teams at Imperial College and around the world who are experts in the techniques we want to learn, and by hiring new post-docs into our team from these groups, who will speed skills transfer. The synthesis of the new techniques, and their combination with our existing skills, will lead to world beating new science and engineering, and new products manufactured in the UK.
molecules that pass through the membrane from those that do not. This uses much less solvents and energy, and is less
complex than alternatives.
Not surprisingly, people have been interested in using membranes to separate and concentrate molecules for some time. A major success is in the area of desalination, where membranes are used to separate fresh water out of seawater. However, membranes are not generally used to separate organic mixtures, like crude oil, into its components, because there were no membranes stable in organic liquids. This has changed recently - research at Imperial College, supported by the platform grant "Molecular Builders: Constructing Nanoporous Materials" has developed membranes that are stable in most solvents, and offer high throughput rates and selectivity between molecules. These have been commercialised through an Imperial spin out company, Membrane Extraction technology, who began production on a small scale. This generated interest from large companies, who saw the potential for widespread use, and MET was acquired by Evonik Industries on 1 March 2010. Evonik MET made a substantial investment in a large scale manufacturing facility in West London, and the UK has become a world leader in the development and manufacture of advanced Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) membranes.
Now, we need to build on this initial success. We have developed innovative new materials with controlled micro-porous structure that lead to outstanding performance. But we have not yet developed the skills and knowledge to put these into devices and to use these devices in molecular separations that would be applicable in commerce and industry.
For the platform grant renewal period, we will revolutionise the device fabrication and application platforms. We will use the techniques we have created to manufacture composite materials and incorporate these into micro-devices such as columns, monoliths and modules. We will use the these devices to deal with separation problems that current membranes cannot reach, such as synthesis of pharmaceuticals in continuously operating reactors, production of DNA and RNA for therapeutic needs, and the separation of gases.
To succeed in this ambitious goal we will need to train our research team in a diverse range of techniques, most of which we do not have currently. We will do this by working with other research teams at Imperial College and around the world who are experts in the techniques we want to learn, and by hiring new post-docs into our team from these groups, who will speed skills transfer. The synthesis of the new techniques, and their combination with our existing skills, will lead to world beating new science and engineering, and new products manufactured in the UK.
Planned Impact
The economic benefits of the research proposed are the business around manufacturing and selling new materials that arise from the research, and the economic benefit of the applications of these materials.
The membranes research group at Imperial College has a strong demonstrated record in the commercialisation of membranes derived from its research. Evonik MET, based in West London, is the only dedicated manufacturing facility for organic solvent nanofiltration membranes in the world. The fundamental processes they used were developed at Imperial College with EPSRC research funding. MicroTech Ceramics is working to create a new range of monoliths for environmental control, and the basic research was performed with EPSRC funding.
If the application for renewal is successful, it will generate a revolutionary range of new devices with potential in separations, and other applications. The most likely interest in these materials will come from companies who manufacture structured polymer and ceramic materials, including membrane manufacturers, and these companies may license the technology developed. Alternatively, there may be the opportunity for creation of new companies to develop and market these new materials, where this makes more economic sense, or where risk hinders larger companies from getting involved. In either case, economic benefits will derive, including investment in capital equipment and creation of skilled jobs, from the manufacture of these new materials.
The second economic impact will come through the application of these devices to industry. We envisage that they will be used for filtration in organic solvents, and separation of molecules in mixtures of solutes. Membranes are generally one of the lowest energy forms of separating components of liquids, and so the end users will obtain economic benefits from energy savings and reduction in complexity of their processes. These end users are likely to be industrial companies operating in the full range of chemical sciences businesses, from oil and gas extraction and refining to the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It is important that the materials we create can be manufactured, and we have deep experience with the scale up to commercial use of developmental materials. It is instructive to note that sales of membranes for desalination and nanofiltration are around £2 billion, and so these materials can feed into major market opportunities.
These economic benefits have parallel social benefits. The manufacture of advanced membrane materials creates high level and knowledge intensive employment, and improves the national accounts through exports achieved. The application of the new materials in industry will reduce energy consumption, and so CO2 production; and the purification of water is a key societal need.
The membranes research group at Imperial College has a strong demonstrated record in the commercialisation of membranes derived from its research. Evonik MET, based in West London, is the only dedicated manufacturing facility for organic solvent nanofiltration membranes in the world. The fundamental processes they used were developed at Imperial College with EPSRC research funding. MicroTech Ceramics is working to create a new range of monoliths for environmental control, and the basic research was performed with EPSRC funding.
If the application for renewal is successful, it will generate a revolutionary range of new devices with potential in separations, and other applications. The most likely interest in these materials will come from companies who manufacture structured polymer and ceramic materials, including membrane manufacturers, and these companies may license the technology developed. Alternatively, there may be the opportunity for creation of new companies to develop and market these new materials, where this makes more economic sense, or where risk hinders larger companies from getting involved. In either case, economic benefits will derive, including investment in capital equipment and creation of skilled jobs, from the manufacture of these new materials.
The second economic impact will come through the application of these devices to industry. We envisage that they will be used for filtration in organic solvents, and separation of molecules in mixtures of solutes. Membranes are generally one of the lowest energy forms of separating components of liquids, and so the end users will obtain economic benefits from energy savings and reduction in complexity of their processes. These end users are likely to be industrial companies operating in the full range of chemical sciences businesses, from oil and gas extraction and refining to the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It is important that the materials we create can be manufactured, and we have deep experience with the scale up to commercial use of developmental materials. It is instructive to note that sales of membranes for desalination and nanofiltration are around £2 billion, and so these materials can feed into major market opportunities.
These economic benefits have parallel social benefits. The manufacture of advanced membrane materials creates high level and knowledge intensive employment, and improves the national accounts through exports achieved. The application of the new materials in industry will reduce energy consumption, and so CO2 production; and the purification of water is a key societal need.
Organisations
Publications
Peng H
(2023)
Unprecedented water permeation in nanostructured PVDF membranes prepared by unidirectional freezing and surface melting method
in Journal of Membrane Science
Prasetya N
(2022)
Synthesis of defective MOF-801 via an environmentally benign approach for diclofenac removal from water streams
in Separation and Purification Technology
Danninger D
(2020)
Stretchable Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion Separators for High Performance Soft Batteries
in Advanced Energy Materials
Wu T
(2020)
Recent advances in aluminium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and its membrane applications
in Journal of Membrane Science
Wu T
(2022)
Re-generable and re-synthesisable micro-structured MIL-53 Rachig Rings for ibuprofen removal
in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Livingston AG
(2020)
Proteins tailor pore geometry.
in Nature materials
Shah V
(2021)
Polydopamine modification of high-performance PVDF ultrafiltration membranes prepared by the combined crystallisation and diffusion (CCD) method
in Journal of Membrane Science
Peng H
(2023)
Nanostructured membranes with interconnected pores via a combination of phase inversion and solvent crystallisation approach
in Journal of Membrane Science
Thompson KA
(2020)
N-Aryl-linked spirocyclic polymers for membrane separations of complex hydrocarbon mixtures.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Foglia F
(2022)
Multimodal confined water dynamics in reverse osmosis polyamide membranes.
in Nature communications
Peng H
(2022)
Morphology and performance of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes prepared by the CCD method: Thermodynamic considerations
in Journal of Membrane Science
Prasetya N
(2021)
MOF-808 and its hollow fibre adsorbents for efficient diclofenac removal
in Chemical Engineering Journal
Mahyon N
(2020)
Integrating Pd-doped perovskite catalysts with ceramic hollow fibre substrate for efficient CO oxidation
in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Li S
(2022)
Hydrophobic polyamide nanofilms provide rapid transport for crude oil separation
in Science
Shah V
(2021)
High-performance PVDF membranes prepared by the combined crystallisation and diffusion (CCD) method using a dual-casting technique: a breakthrough for water treatment applications
in Energy & Environmental Science
Wu T
(2022)
High-performance porous graphene oxide hollow fiber membranes with tailored pore sizes for water purification
in Journal of Membrane Science
Li T
(2020)
High-performance fuel cell designed for coking-resistance and efficient conversion of waste methane to electrical energy
in Energy & Environmental Science
Rabuni M
(2020)
High performance micro-monolithic reversible solid oxide electrochemical reactor
in Journal of Power Sources
Casanova S
(2020)
High flux thin-film nanocomposites with embedded boron nitride nanotubes for nanofiltration
in Journal of Membrane Science
Oxley A
(2022)
Graft modification of polybenzimidazole membranes for organic solvent ultrafiltration with scale up to spiral wound modules
in Journal of Membrane Science
Oxley A
(2024)
Effect of polymer molecular weight on the long-term process stability of crosslinked polybenzimidazole organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes
in Journal of Membrane Science
Banjerdteerakul K
(2023)
Covalent organic frameworks based membranes for separation of azeotropic solvent mixtures by pervaporation
in Journal of Membrane Science
Zeindlhofer V
(2019)
Computational analysis of conductivity contributions in an ionic liquid mixture of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide and tetrafluoroborate
in Journal of Molecular Liquids
Banjerdteerakul K
(2023)
COF-based nanofiltration membrane for effective treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceutical residues
in Journal of Membrane Science
Peng H
(2023)
COF-300/PVDF adsorbents with aligned microchannels for fast removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
in Chemical Engineering Journal
Banjerdteerakul K
(2023)
Ceramic hollow fibre supported covalent organic framework membranes prepared by direct interfacial polymerisation -potential for efficient dye removal from wastewater
in Journal of Membrane Science
Oxley A
(2022)
Anti-fouling membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) and organic solvent ultrafiltration (OSU): graft modified polybenzimidazole (PBI)
in Journal of Membrane Science
Jiang Z
(2022)
Aligned macrocycle pores in ultrathin films for accurate molecular sieving.
in Nature
He A
(2022)
A smart and responsive crystalline porous organic cage membrane with switchable pore apertures for graded molecular sieving.
in Nature materials
Mahyon N
(2019)
A new hollow fibre catalytic converter design for sustainable automotive emissions control
in Catalysis Communications
Burke DW
(2024)
2D Covalent Organic Framework Membranes for Liquid-Phase Molecular Separations: State of the Field, Common Pitfalls, and Future Opportunities.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Description | We have found that we can adjust the pore sizes, and so selectivities of membranes, by using nanoporous materials in the fabrication of the thin film separating layers. |
Exploitation Route | A start up company, Exactmer (www.exactmer.com) has been established which is making iuse of these results. . Exactmer is growing rapidly and is now more than 20 people, including more than 80% PhDs, based at a science park in East London and commercialising the Nanostar Sieving process that was developed with the help of this grant. |
Sectors | Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | We have used the findings to apply for patents on the methods we have developed for making polymers with exquisitely accurately controlled polymer sequences. A start up company, Exactmer (www.exactmer.com) has been established to commercialise these results. . Exactmer is growing rapidly and is now more than 20 people, including more than 80% PhDs, based at a science park in East London and commercialising the Nanostar Sieving process that was developed with the help of this grant. |
First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
Sector | Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Company Name | EXACTMER |
Description | Exactmer is a start-up dedicated to producing precision polymeric molecules with our patented Nanostar Sieving Technology. Using this disruptive new platform, we are creating exquisite synthetic and biological polymers, including oligonucleotides and mono-disperse polyethylene glycols (PEGs), ADC linkers, peptides and moremost of them bound for use in medicines that enhance patient quality of life. |
Year Established | 2018 |
Impact | Exactmer has entered into a multi-million pound collaboration with GSK, AZ and Alnylam led by MMIC/CPI to develop and scale up the manufacture of therapeutic oligonucleotides using liquid phase synthesis. |
Website | http://www.exactmer.com |
Description | Outreach Activity at The Imperial Festival, 28-29 April 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The College's annual Imperial Festival was held on 28-29 April 2018. It was freely open to the general public and included sessions for schools and alumni providing an opportunity to go behind-the-scenes and explore the latest research at Imperial College. The Festival included live interactive experiments, new technology demonstrations, in-depth talks, lab tours, musical and dance-based performances, and creative workshops within zones themed around Robots, Superbugs, Health & Body, the Future, and Energy and Environment. The Barrer Centre demonstrated a membrane system used to purify water and compared it directly with a coventional system based on water evaporation (ie boiling) and condensing. The energy requirement for the membrane system was significantly less than for the conventional system. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/festival/ |