Nano-sieves purify biofuels
A new type of ‘molecular sieve’ is capable of removing water out of solvents and biofuels.
It is a very energy efficient alternative to existing techniques like distillation.
The previous generation of ‘nano-sieve’ membranes, made of silica, degrade because they react with water and steam.
In the new membrane, part of the ceramic links is therefore replaced by organic links. By doing this, water doesn’t have the chance to ‘attack’ the membranes. Manufacturing the new hybrid membranes is simpler than that of ceramic membranes, because the material is flexible and will not show cracks.
The hybrid membranes are suitable for ‘drying’ solvents and biofuels, an application for which there is a large potential market worldwide. The main advantage of membrane technology is that it consumes far less energy than common distillation techniques.
This technology - mixing organic molecules with inorganic - to produce new materials is producing great advances.
Reversing the flow means that dirty water can be cleaned very easily, filtering out bacteria and dirt.
Another nano-sieve is suitable for filtering out carbon dioxide. This has great applications in exhaust fume management from cars to factories and coal-fired electricity generators.
Loading ...