{"52917":{"#nid":"52917","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Computational Modeling Helps Design Improved Membrane Technology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EComputational modeling tools developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology could accelerate development of a new type of membrane technology that will boost the efficiency of energy-related gas separations. The tools will help researchers identify the best candidate materials for use in new metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes now under development. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMOF membranes offer an alternative to more energy intensive processes for separating gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen and hydrogen. The technology has generated significant interest because of the broad range of crystalline structures that can be synthesized, but development of new MOF membranes is still at an early stage. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMetal-organic framework membranes will be useful for doing large-scale energy-related separations in an efficient way. We are trying to accelerate their development to help move the world\u2019s energy economy toward a more sustainable path,\u201d said David Sholl, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. \u201cA lot of chemists are interested in developing these metal-organic frameworks, and we hope to provide a new approach to designing the membranes.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA publication on the use of atomically detailed calculations for designing metal-organic framework membranes was recently cited by ScienceWatch as its \u201cfast-breaking paper in engineering\u201d for February 2010. Details of the work were published in the journal \u003Cem\u003EIndustrial Engineering Chemical Research \u003C\/em\u003Ein January 2009. The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF). \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMetal-organic framework materials are nanoporous crystals that combine metal-organic complexes with organic linkers to create highly porous frameworks. They offer advantages such as high surface area, porosity, low density and both thermal and mechanical stability \u2013 all important for separation membranes. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are many possible material combinations that could be used in the membranes. By comparing such properties as binding strength and flow rates, the computational modeling could give researchers a way to rapidly identify the materials that will work best in high-volume industrial applications. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe extra challenge with using metal-organic frameworks is that there are literally thousands of different materials that could be considered for use,\u201d said Sholl, who is a Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholar in energy sustainability. \u201cThis is where computational modeling really helps. We are doing the materials screening problem computationally to guide us in attacking the actual fabrication problem experimentally.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESholl hopes the technique will narrow the list of candidate materials from thousands down to as few as 10. Researchers would then fabricate the membranes and test them in real-world conditions. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we were testing all of these in the lab without the computational guidance, it\u2019s unlikely that we would ever choose the right material,\u201d he said. \u201cThe biggest challenge for making a new membrane is that it really requires a lot of work to make a functioning device. Even if we know exactly what material to use, there is a very long development path.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, Sholl\u2019s modeling group is working with experimentalists such as Sankar Nair and Christopher Jones \u2013 both professors in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering \u2013 to produce prototype membranes for evaluation. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe big push right now is to make some devices and get test data,\u201d Sholl said. \u201cIn particular, we want to do this within a technology framework that we know can scale up to real-world industrial levels quickly.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to colleagues at Georgia Tech, the group is also working with industrial partners to help ensure that the membranes work in industrial conditions. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we can go from the idea in the academic lab to a serious field test within five years, that would be a real success,\u201d said Sholl, who holds the Michael Tennenbaum Family Chair in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford for this to take 25 years because there is a need for this technology now.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new membrane technology could be used to address environmental issues such as removal of carbon dioxide from stack gases of coal-burning facilities in a cost-effective way. The technology could also make it economically attractive to use natural gas supplies that are contaminated with carbon dioxide, potentially expanding supplies of that fuel. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers, including graduate student Seda Keskin, have modeled how the membrane technology would operate in separating methane from carbon dioxide, hydrogen from carbon dioxide, nitrogen from carbon dioxide, hydrogen from methane, nitrogen from hydrogen and methane from nitrogen. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe common thread of this work is that we are interested in very large scale, large volume applications that can only be economical with very low energy input,\u201d Sholl added. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grants CTS-0413027 and CTS-0556831. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official view of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Abby Vogel (404-385-3364)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:avogel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eavogel@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E). \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: David Sholl (404-894-2822)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.sholl@chbe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.sholl@chbe.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E). \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Computational modeling tools developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology could accelerate development of a new type of membrane technology that will boost the efficiency of energy-related gas separations.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New membrane technology could boost energy-related separations"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2010-02-15 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:33","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"52918":{"id":"52918","type":"image","title":"How an MOF membrane works","body":null,"created":"1449175459","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:44:19","changed":"1475894476","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:16","alt":"How an MOF membrane works","file":{"fid":"149144","name":"tyi50387.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tyi50387_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tyi50387_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":235089,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tyi50387_0.jpg?itok=2AvnZLhU"}},"52919":{"id":"52919","type":"image","title":"Prof. David Sholl","body":null,"created":"1449175459","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:44:19","changed":"1475894476","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:16","alt":"Prof. David Sholl","file":{"fid":"149145","name":"tjb50387.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tjb50387_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tjb50387_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":903188,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tjb50387_0.jpg?itok=F4aEuIU7"}}},"media_ids":["52918","52919"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemical \u0026 Biomolecular Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/fac_staff\/faculty\/sholl.php","title":"David Sholl"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"7440","name":"membrane"},{"id":"8464","name":"metal-organic"},{"id":"169566","name":"separation"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}