(6ja) Advanced Membranes for Sustainable Separations at the Water-Energy Nexus
AIChE Annual Meeting
2019
2019 AIChE Annual Meeting
Meet the Faculty and Post-Doc Candidates Poster Session -- Sponsored by the Education Division
Meet the Faculty and Post-Doc Candidates Poster Session
Sunday, November 10, 2019 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Background: The overarching goal of my proposed
research program is to develop advanced scalable membranes with an aim to
address the growing demands of freshwater production and energy generation. The
issues of water and energy tend to be inextricably linked, and the development
of cost-effective separation strategies are crucial for both of these issues. Membrane-based
processes like reverse osmosis and nanofiltration currently account for majority
of the world’s desalination operations, effectively replacing the traditional
thermally driven separation operations. Development in membrane materials like
polyamide thin-film composite membranes have contributed to this tremendous success
of membrane technology. The emergence of new waterborne contaminants (e.g. per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances or, PFAS) as well as increased reliance on new
sources of energy (e.g. shale gas), necessitate development of advanced
membranes, beyond the polyamide thin-film composites. Furthermore, in the area
of gas and vapor separations, energy intensive processes like distillation and
amine absorption continue to be the predominant separation techniques. This continued
reliance on existing techniques reflects difficulty in meeting advanced
separation needs by current state-of-the-art polymeric membranes, which are limited
by the so-called “polymer performance upper bound”. My proposed
research will focus on developing the next generation of high-performing liquid
and gas separation membranes. Research Interests: A. Layer-by-layer (LbL) as a versatile
platform for advanced liquid separation membranes 1. Modification of commercial membrane
surfaces via LbL of alternately charged polyelectrolytes has been shown
to be an effective method to develop fouling resistant water purification membranes.
This project will seek to extend this approach beyond wastewater reuse to other
important applications such as biofuel generation. I envision that such surface
modified membranes can be developed as effective tools for separation of harmful
inhibitory substances from useful sugar molecules during biomass pretreatment
stages. 2. Shale gas recovery and extraction
generate large quantities of high salinity produced water, which are
challenging to purify with regular thin-film composite RO membranes. In fact,
for such high-salinity feed streams, engineered osmosis processes like forward
osmosis are especially attractive compared to reverse osmosis. This project
will focus on a novel design of asymmetric forward osmosis membranes, wherein
both the support and the selective layer will be fabricated via the LbL
technique. Molecular-level engineering of multiple LbL parameters has the
potential to overcome the key challenges faced in FO separations [e.g.
concentration polarization (internal and external) and inadequate separation
properties]. Besides inherently superior transport performances, these
membranes can also provide high fouling resistances. B. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS)
membranes for challenging gas and vapor separations 1. While produced water generation during
natural gas extraction provides new opportunities for advanced liquid
separation membranes, removing pipeline contaminants (e.g. N2, CO2
etc.) from natural gas requires even more advanced approaches. Carbon molecular
sieve (CMS) membranes, which are the end products of high temperature pyrolysis
of polymers, are uniquely suited for such challenging separations, with the
added advantage of easy scalability. This project will specifically focus on
overcoming the so-called “hyperskin” effect in such membranes, which
limits productivities in their hollow fiber formats. Engineering this
feature will lead to membranes with exceptionally high productivities that
would not only be useful for natural gas production, but also for other
critical separations like CO2 capture and downstream separations
like olefins/paraffins. 2. The underlying porous substructure
beneath the CMS selective layer plays an important role in maintaining high
productivities in asymmetric forms. This project will involve creating high
porosity CMS substrates, while overcoming problems with high temperature
(>700 ⁰C) pyrolysis needed to create ultra-selective CMS membranes.
Specifically, current silica-based anti-collapse treatments lose porosity above
700 ⁰C, and my approach avoids this deficiency using nanoparticle
engineering during fiber spinning. Such membranes will be “game changers” for
challenging applications like olefin/paraffin separation (Δ < 0.2 Å) to
debottleneck energy intensive distillation processes. Prior research experiences My research background involves both
liquid and gas separation membranes. In my PhD research at Michigan State
University (Supervisor: Prof. Ilsoon Lee), I developed polyelectrolyte
multilayer membranes for perchlorate ion removal and wastewater effluent
treatment. For the first time, these membranes were designed for real
wastewater effluents and their long-term performance surpassed those of the
state-of-the-art commercial membranes. Currently, in my postdoctoral research at
Georgia Tech (Supervisor: Prof. Bill Koros) I am working on the core
fundamental aspects of CMS membranes. My work has resulted in the identification
of previously undiscovered features in these membranes, which have
significant implications for developing the next generation of high-performance
gas separation membranes. These topics are covered in publications 1&2
below. Peer-reviewed publications: (Total – 11; Google Scholar: Oishi Sanyal) 1.
Sanyal, O.; Hicks,
S.T.; Bhuwania, N.; Hays, S.; Kamath, M.J.; Karwa, S.; Swaidan, R.; Koros,
W.J. “Cause and effects of hyperskin features on carbon molecular sieve (CMS)
membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, 551,113-122,
(2018). 2.
Sanyal, O.; Zhang,
C.; Wenz, G. B.; Fu, S.; Bhuwania, N.; Xu, L.; Rungta, M.; Koros, W.J.
“Next generation membranes-using tailored carbon,” Carbon, 127,
688-698, (2018). 3.
Sanyal, O.; Liu,
Z.; Yu, J; Meharg, B. M.; Hong J. S; Liao, W.; Lee, I. “Design of
fouling-resistant clay-embedded polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes for
wastewater effluent treatment,” Journal of Membrane Science, 512,
21-28, (2016). 4.
Sanyal, O.; Liu,
Z.; Meharg, B. M.; Liao, W.; Lee, I. "Development of polyelectrolyte
multilayer membranes to reduce the COD level of electrocoagulation treated
high-strength wastewater,” Journal of Membrane Science, 496,
259-266, (2015). 5.
Sanyal, O.; Sommerfeld,
A.N.; Lee, I. "Design of ultrathin nanostructured
polyelectrolyte-based membranes with high perchlorate rejection and high
permeability," Separation and Purification Technology, 145,
113-119, (2015). 6.
Sanyal, O.; Lee,
I. "Recent progress in the application of layer-by-layer assembly to the
preparation of nanostructured ion-rejecting water purification
membranes," Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 14, 2178-2189, (2014). 7.
Cao, Y.; Zhang, K.; Sanyal, O.; Koros, W.
J. “Carbon molecular sieve membrane preparation by economical coating and
pyrolysis of porous polymer hollow fibers” Angewandte Chemie International
Edition (2019) (https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201906653). 8.
Adams, J. S.; Itta, A. K.; Zhang, C.; Wenz, G.
B.; Sanyal, O.; Koros, W. J. “New insights into structural evolution in
carbon molecular sieve membranes during pyrolysis,” Carbon, 141,
238-246, (2019). 9.
Yu, J.; Sanyal, O.; Izbicki, A.P.; Lee,
I. "Development of layered multi-scale porous thin films by tuning
deposition time and molecular weight of polyelectrolytes," Macromolecular
Rapid Communication, 36, 1669-1674, (2015). 10. Yu, J.; Han, S.; Hong, J.S.; Sanyal, O.; Lee, I.
“Synchronous generation of nano and micro-scaled hierarchical porous
polyelectrolyte multilayers for superwettable surfaces,” Langmuir,
32, 8494–8500, (2016). 11. Gokhale, A.A.; Lu, J.; Parker, N.J.; Izbicki, A.P.; Sanyal,
O.; Lee, I. "Conductive oxygen barrier films using supramolecular
assembly of graphene embedded polyelectrolyte multilayers," Journal
of Colloid and Interface Science,409, 219-226, (2013). Teaching Interests: I have served as a teaching
assistant for core chemical engineering courses (Transport Phenomena, Mass and
Energy Balance) at Michigan State University and Georgia Tech. I have also
mentored 10 undergraduate students so far. Since my background is in chemical
engineering, I can teach any of the core courses like Thermodynamics, Transport
Phenomena, Chemical Reaction Engineering, Mass Transfer etc. Moreover, I am
interested in developing a new graduate level course on membrane-based
separations. Importantly, I will commit to maintaining diversity both in my
research group as well as in the department.
research program is to develop advanced scalable membranes with an aim to
address the growing demands of freshwater production and energy generation. The
issues of water and energy tend to be inextricably linked, and the development
of cost-effective separation strategies are crucial for both of these issues. Membrane-based
processes like reverse osmosis and nanofiltration currently account for majority
of the world’s desalination operations, effectively replacing the traditional
thermally driven separation operations. Development in membrane materials like
polyamide thin-film composite membranes have contributed to this tremendous success
of membrane technology. The emergence of new waterborne contaminants (e.g. per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances or, PFAS) as well as increased reliance on new
sources of energy (e.g. shale gas), necessitate development of advanced
membranes, beyond the polyamide thin-film composites. Furthermore, in the area
of gas and vapor separations, energy intensive processes like distillation and
amine absorption continue to be the predominant separation techniques. This continued
reliance on existing techniques reflects difficulty in meeting advanced
separation needs by current state-of-the-art polymeric membranes, which are limited
by the so-called “polymer performance upper bound”. My proposed
research will focus on developing the next generation of high-performing liquid
and gas separation membranes. Research Interests: A. Layer-by-layer (LbL) as a versatile
platform for advanced liquid separation membranes 1. Modification of commercial membrane
surfaces via LbL of alternately charged polyelectrolytes has been shown
to be an effective method to develop fouling resistant water purification membranes.
This project will seek to extend this approach beyond wastewater reuse to other
important applications such as biofuel generation. I envision that such surface
modified membranes can be developed as effective tools for separation of harmful
inhibitory substances from useful sugar molecules during biomass pretreatment
stages. 2. Shale gas recovery and extraction
generate large quantities of high salinity produced water, which are
challenging to purify with regular thin-film composite RO membranes. In fact,
for such high-salinity feed streams, engineered osmosis processes like forward
osmosis are especially attractive compared to reverse osmosis. This project
will focus on a novel design of asymmetric forward osmosis membranes, wherein
both the support and the selective layer will be fabricated via the LbL
technique. Molecular-level engineering of multiple LbL parameters has the
potential to overcome the key challenges faced in FO separations [e.g.
concentration polarization (internal and external) and inadequate separation
properties]. Besides inherently superior transport performances, these
membranes can also provide high fouling resistances. B. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS)
membranes for challenging gas and vapor separations 1. While produced water generation during
natural gas extraction provides new opportunities for advanced liquid
separation membranes, removing pipeline contaminants (e.g. N2, CO2
etc.) from natural gas requires even more advanced approaches. Carbon molecular
sieve (CMS) membranes, which are the end products of high temperature pyrolysis
of polymers, are uniquely suited for such challenging separations, with the
added advantage of easy scalability. This project will specifically focus on
overcoming the so-called “hyperskin” effect in such membranes, which
limits productivities in their hollow fiber formats. Engineering this
feature will lead to membranes with exceptionally high productivities that
would not only be useful for natural gas production, but also for other
critical separations like CO2 capture and downstream separations
like olefins/paraffins. 2. The underlying porous substructure
beneath the CMS selective layer plays an important role in maintaining high
productivities in asymmetric forms. This project will involve creating high
porosity CMS substrates, while overcoming problems with high temperature
(>700 ⁰C) pyrolysis needed to create ultra-selective CMS membranes.
Specifically, current silica-based anti-collapse treatments lose porosity above
700 ⁰C, and my approach avoids this deficiency using nanoparticle
engineering during fiber spinning. Such membranes will be “game changers” for
challenging applications like olefin/paraffin separation (Δ < 0.2 Å) to
debottleneck energy intensive distillation processes. Prior research experiences My research background involves both
liquid and gas separation membranes. In my PhD research at Michigan State
University (Supervisor: Prof. Ilsoon Lee), I developed polyelectrolyte
multilayer membranes for perchlorate ion removal and wastewater effluent
treatment. For the first time, these membranes were designed for real
wastewater effluents and their long-term performance surpassed those of the
state-of-the-art commercial membranes. Currently, in my postdoctoral research at
Georgia Tech (Supervisor: Prof. Bill Koros) I am working on the core
fundamental aspects of CMS membranes. My work has resulted in the identification
of previously undiscovered features in these membranes, which have
significant implications for developing the next generation of high-performance
gas separation membranes. These topics are covered in publications 1&2
below. Peer-reviewed publications: (Total – 11; Google Scholar: Oishi Sanyal) 1.
Sanyal, O.; Hicks,
S.T.; Bhuwania, N.; Hays, S.; Kamath, M.J.; Karwa, S.; Swaidan, R.; Koros,
W.J. “Cause and effects of hyperskin features on carbon molecular sieve (CMS)
membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, 551,113-122,
(2018). 2.
Sanyal, O.; Zhang,
C.; Wenz, G. B.; Fu, S.; Bhuwania, N.; Xu, L.; Rungta, M.; Koros, W.J.
“Next generation membranes-using tailored carbon,” Carbon, 127,
688-698, (2018). 3.
Sanyal, O.; Liu,
Z.; Yu, J; Meharg, B. M.; Hong J. S; Liao, W.; Lee, I. “Design of
fouling-resistant clay-embedded polyelectrolyte multilayer membranes for
wastewater effluent treatment,” Journal of Membrane Science, 512,
21-28, (2016). 4.
Sanyal, O.; Liu,
Z.; Meharg, B. M.; Liao, W.; Lee, I. "Development of polyelectrolyte
multilayer membranes to reduce the COD level of electrocoagulation treated
high-strength wastewater,” Journal of Membrane Science, 496,
259-266, (2015). 5.
Sanyal, O.; Sommerfeld,
A.N.; Lee, I. "Design of ultrathin nanostructured
polyelectrolyte-based membranes with high perchlorate rejection and high
permeability," Separation and Purification Technology, 145,
113-119, (2015). 6.
Sanyal, O.; Lee,
I. "Recent progress in the application of layer-by-layer assembly to the
preparation of nanostructured ion-rejecting water purification
membranes," Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 14, 2178-2189, (2014). 7.
Cao, Y.; Zhang, K.; Sanyal, O.; Koros, W.
J. “Carbon molecular sieve membrane preparation by economical coating and
pyrolysis of porous polymer hollow fibers” Angewandte Chemie International
Edition (2019) (https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201906653). 8.
Adams, J. S.; Itta, A. K.; Zhang, C.; Wenz, G.
B.; Sanyal, O.; Koros, W. J. “New insights into structural evolution in
carbon molecular sieve membranes during pyrolysis,” Carbon, 141,
238-246, (2019). 9.
Yu, J.; Sanyal, O.; Izbicki, A.P.; Lee,
I. "Development of layered multi-scale porous thin films by tuning
deposition time and molecular weight of polyelectrolytes," Macromolecular
Rapid Communication, 36, 1669-1674, (2015). 10. Yu, J.; Han, S.; Hong, J.S.; Sanyal, O.; Lee, I.
“Synchronous generation of nano and micro-scaled hierarchical porous
polyelectrolyte multilayers for superwettable surfaces,” Langmuir,
32, 8494–8500, (2016). 11. Gokhale, A.A.; Lu, J.; Parker, N.J.; Izbicki, A.P.; Sanyal,
O.; Lee, I. "Conductive oxygen barrier films using supramolecular
assembly of graphene embedded polyelectrolyte multilayers," Journal
of Colloid and Interface Science,409, 219-226, (2013). Teaching Interests: I have served as a teaching
assistant for core chemical engineering courses (Transport Phenomena, Mass and
Energy Balance) at Michigan State University and Georgia Tech. I have also
mentored 10 undergraduate students so far. Since my background is in chemical
engineering, I can teach any of the core courses like Thermodynamics, Transport
Phenomena, Chemical Reaction Engineering, Mass Transfer etc. Moreover, I am
interested in developing a new graduate level course on membrane-based
separations. Importantly, I will commit to maintaining diversity both in my
research group as well as in the department.