Purdue University
School of Chemical Engineering
Graduate
seminar SERIES
Dr.
Benny D. Freeman
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
“Materials Science Opportunities
in Polymer Membranes for Water Purification”
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
9:00-10:30 a.m.
FRNY G140
Abstract.
Polymer membranes are critically important to address urgent global needs in the 21st
century for reliable, sustainable, and efficient access to clean energy and clean water. Such membranes have emerged as a leading technology to desalinate water (e.g., reverse osmosis and nanofiltration) and remove particulates (e.g., ultrafiltration
and microfiltration), and they are being explored for energy generation in applications such as reverse electrodialysis and pressure retarded osmosis. This presentation focuses on two topics of interest for membranes used in water purification: (1) the fundamentals
of ion and water transport in polymers and (2) fouling-resistant coatings for polymer membranes. For the first topic, structure/property correlations are shown for a variety of polymers, including uncharged and charged materials. The solution/diffusion model
is described for water and ion transport. The role of free volume in governing diffusion of solutes through hydrated polymers is demonstrated. The existence of a water/salt permeability/selectivity tradeoff relation is shown for polymers being considered
for such applications. Comparisons are made to similar physics governing gas transport in polymers. For the second topic, the ability of surface modification to reduce membrane fouling in ultra/microfiltration membranes used, for example, in treating flowback
water from hydraulic fracturing is discussed. Membrane surface coating using dopamine solution, which undergoes polymerization under alkaline, aerobic conditions to form polydopamine, can improve membrane fouling resistance to oil/water emulsions. Results
from initial studies demonstrating proof of principle through scaleup and deployment of membranes based on this concept will be presented. Recent studies on the structure of polydopamine will also be described as well as the impact of membrane testing protocols
on fouling results.
Bio:
Benny Freeman is the Richard B. Curran Centennial Chair in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor of Chemical Engineering and has been a faculty member for 25
years. He completed graduate training in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in 1988. In 1988 and 1989, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de
Paris (ESPCI), Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Structurale et Macromoléculaire in Paris, France. Dr. Freeman’s research is in polymer science and engineering and, more specifically, in mass transport of small molecules in solid polymers. He currently directs
15 Ph.D. students and 2 postdoctoral fellows performing fundamental research in gas and liquid separations using polymer membranes and barrier packaging. His research group focuses on structure/property correlation development for desalination and gas separation
membrane materials, such as new materials for water/ion separation, hydrogen separation, natural gas purification, and carbon capture. His group also studies reactive barrier packaging materials and new materials for improving fouling resistance and permeation
performance of liquid separation membranes.
His research is described in 350 publications and 18 patents/patent applications. He has co-edited 5 books on these topics. He has won a number of awards, including the Joe J. King Professional
Engineering Achievement Award from The University of Texas (2013), AIChE Clarence (Larry) G. Gerhold Award (2013), Society of Plastics Engineers International Award (2013), Roy W. Tess Award in Coatings from the PMSE Division of ACS (2012), the ACS Award in
Applied Polymer Science (2009), AIChE Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology (2008), and the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project of the Year (2001). He is a Fellow of the AAAS, AIChE, ACS, and the PMSE and
IECR Divisions of ACS. He has served as chair of the PMSE Division of the ACS, chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Membranes: Materials and Processes, President of the North American Membrane Society, chair of the Membranes Area of the Separations
Division of the AIChE, and as Chair of the Separations Division of AIChE. He is a co-founder of Advanced Hydro, Inc. (http://www.advancedhydro.net/)
Mrs. Karen Heide
Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering
Purdue University
480 Stadium Mall Drive
West Lafayette IN 47907-2100
Phone: 765-494-4050
Fax: 765-494-0805
