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Low-Cost Silicon Carbide Ceramic Membranes

 

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-00ER86105

Amount:  $100,000

Small Business	Research Institution
Custom Materials, Inc.	The Johns Hopkins University
10237 Breconshire Road	3400 North Charles Street
Ellicott City, MD  21042-5855	Whiting School of Engineering
Dr. Dennis C. Nagle, Principal Investigator	Baltimore, MD  21218
Dr. Dennis C. Nagle, Business Official
410-461-7759

 

For many chemical systems, membrane technology offers the promise of being less energy intensive and less costly for separating chemical species from a mixture, compared with conventional separation processes.  However, membranes currently used for the separation of gas mixtures are prone to fouling, instability, low throughput, low selectivity of separation, poor durability, and high cost.  This project will develop a low cost method for producing these high throughput, robust membranes using a cellulose-derived composite with pulp or paper as the starting material.  The membrane's expected nanoporosity should yield membrane properties that allow for the efficient and flexible separation of many gas mixtures based on their molecular size.  Phase I will develop silicon carbide nanoporous membranes with the desired pore structure, using the cellulose-derived composite.  These membranes will be demonstrated in the separation of carbon dioxide from oxygen and the results will be analyzed.

 

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  Numerous applications exist for this technology including the high selectivity separation of gases, the selective removal of gases from flue gas mixtures, and the generation of oxygen enriched gas mixtures.  Additionally, the method could provide a low cost method to produce silicon carbide membranes with pore sizes tailored for other chemical species.