Abstract:

Molecular sieve membranes have created interest as high-performance separation systems for production of petro-based and renewable fuels and chemicals. Compared to thermodynamically driven separation methods such as distillation, membrane-based processes can substantially reduce the energy and capital costs of separating molecules on a large scale. This is attractive because separations account for 40% of the total energy consumption in the chemical industry. Separation based on the preferential adsorption and molecular sieving mechanisms can make the large-scale industrial deployment of membranes possible. Our research has been devoted to fabricate nanometer thin, pin-hole/crack free membranes on porous supports.

In this talk, I will highlight what we learned regarding three high performance nanoporous materials; nanometer-thick 2D zeolites, metal organic framework (ZIFs), organosilica and their use in designing homogeneous, highly selective/permeable thin membranes will be addressed.

Short Biography of the Speaker:

Berna Topuz received her bachelor degree from Ege University, Turkey, and PhD and master degrees from the Izmir Institute of Technology. She then did postdoc at Middle East Technical University and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Since 2014 she joined Ankara University Chemical Engineering Department as an assistant professor. She is currently associate professor in the Chemical Engineering Department and she has been serving as Vice Director in the Water Management Institute at Ankara University since December 2016. Dr. Topuz’s research mainly focuses on development of high-performance inorganic/hybrid membranes out of nanoporous materials organosilica, zeolites, metal organic frameworks, and their applications in gas and vapor separations.