Project Details
Program
Chemical Engineering
Field of Study
Engineering in Pharmaceutical Industry
Division
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Faculty Lab Link
Project Description
Separation processes play a remarkable role in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, where they account for 50 to 70% of both capital and operational costs. Organic synthesis in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry are frequently performed in organic solvents and consist of products with high added value that should be removed from the organic solvents. Organic solvent nanofiltration is an emerging technology which allows the isolation and separation of solutes between 50 and 2000 g/mol in organic solvents. The development of nanofiltration membranes stable in harsh environments (e.g. polar aprotic solvents, extreme temperature, pressure and pH) is of utmost importance. Solvent resistant nanofiltration membranes will be fabricated exhibiting superior chemical stability compared to commercial polymeric membranes. The concept of design of experiments (DoE) will be applied throughout the project to gain an in depth understanding parameters governing the membrane will be prepared and crosslinked using aromatic bifunctional crosslinkers. The membrane performance (i.e. flux, retention profile, solvent stability) will be evaluated using a nanofiltration rig.
About the Researcher
Gyorgy Szekely
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliations
Education Profile
- PDRA, Imperial College London, 2012a-2014
- PhD, Technical University of Dortmund, 2009a-2012
- MEng, Technical University of Budapest, 2004a-2009
Research Interests
Professor Szekely's research focuses on sustainable separations through the synergistic combination of materials science and chemical engineering. Sustainable production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and clean water is largely impacted by the efficiency of separation processes in product supply chains. The conventional separation processes can account for as much as 80% of the total manufacturing costs, contributing ~10% of the world's energy consumption. In particular, the group's research investigates the potential of advanced membrane and imprinted materials for efficient purification and sustainable processing of fine chemicals and water.Selected Publications
- C. Yang, F. Topuz, S.-H. Park, G. Szekely, Biobased thin-film composite membranes comprising priaminea-genipin selective layer on nanofibrous biodegradable polylactic acid support for oil and solvent-resistant nanofiltration, Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 5291a-5303.
- A. Alammar, R. Hardian, G. Szekely, Upcycling agricultural waste into membranes: from date seed biomass to oil and solvent-resistant nanofiltration, Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 365a-374.
- S.-H. Park, C. Yang, N. Ayaril, G. Szekely, Solvent-resistant Thin Film Composite Membranes from Biomass-derived Building Blocks: Chitosan and 2,5-Furandicarboxaldehyde, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2022, 10, 998a-1007.
- G. Ignacz, G. Szekely, Deep learning meets quantitative structurea-activity relationship (QSAR) for leveraging structure-based prediction of solute rejection in organic solvent nanofiltration, Journal of Membrane Science, 2022, 646, 120268.
- L. Cseri, R. Hardian, S. Anan, H. Vovusha, U. Schwingenschlogl, P.M. Budd, K. Sada, K. Kokado, G. Szekely, Bridging the interfacial gap in mixed-matrix membranes by nature-inspired design: Precise molecular sieving with polymer-grafted metala-organic frameworks, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2021, 9, 23793a-23801.
Desired Project Deliverables
The student will acquire soft skills such as team working, project and time management, giving oral presentations. By the end of the traineeship the student will have a deep understanding of membrane separations, particularly in nanofiltration. Practical and theoretical aspects of surface modification techniques and polymer chemistry techniques will be acquired.
Recommended Student Background
Undergraduate (min 72 credits hours/ECTS 110-120 Credits/Completion of 3 years)
Post Graduate (completed BSc. program)
Post Graduate (currently in MS program