www.azonano.com
South Carolina university engineers develop new ultra-thin membrane with aluminum oxide support
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
University of South Carolina engineers have developed one of the thinnest and most selective membranes ever made, which could potentially be used for water purification applications, especially in hydraulic fracturing, according to a press release.
The membrane's selectivity is based on molecular size; hydrogen and helium can pass through easily but carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane pass through more slowly, according to the release.
"The membrane behaves like a sieve," said Miao Yu, a chemical engineer in USC's College of Engineering and Computing, who led the research team.
In addition to selectivity, what's remarkable about the USC team's result is the quality of the membrane they were able to craft on such a small scale. The 1.8 nanometer membrane is constructed on the surface of a porous aluminum oxide support. Flakes of graphene oxide, with widths on the order of 500 nm but just one carbon atom thick, were deposited on the aluminum oxide support to create a circular membrane about 2 square centimeters in area, the release reported.
In addition to water purification, continued the release, the membrane could also be used to separate carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas from other gases, and to purify hydrogen from gas mixtures for energy use.
The membrane's selectivity is based on molecular size; hydrogen and helium can pass through easily but carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane pass through more slowly, according to the release.
"The membrane behaves like a sieve," said Miao Yu, a chemical engineer in USC's College of Engineering and Computing, who led the research team.
In addition to selectivity, what's remarkable about the USC team's result is the quality of the membrane they were able to craft on such a small scale. The 1.8 nanometer membrane is constructed on the surface of a porous aluminum oxide support. Flakes of graphene oxide, with widths on the order of 500 nm but just one carbon atom thick, were deposited on the aluminum oxide support to create a circular membrane about 2 square centimeters in area, the release reported.
In addition to water purification, continued the release, the membrane could also be used to separate carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas from other gases, and to purify hydrogen from gas mixtures for energy use.
Previous article
NALCO may invest $811 million to boost its alumina refining capacity
Next articleCarbo introduces new high-alumina proppant for hydraulic fracturing well
Grow with
AL Circle
