2024 AIChE Annual Meeting

(4iy) Engineering Porous Organic Materials for Sustainable Separations Processes

Author

Borne, I. - Presenter, Georgia Institute of Technology
Research Interests: Chemical separations of various mixtures are critical to solving some of the grand challenges facing humanity today. Gas separations are important for combatting climate change and mitigating the effects of damage already inflicted globally. With over 30 gigatons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere annually and the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, it is clear that the development of new porous materials and especially energy-efficient adsorption processes will be needed to achieve this goal. Emerging separation processes will be critical moving forward, especially for atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) and precious metal recovery. Purification of seawater via reverse osmosis is not feasible for arid, landlocked communities. Likewise, the societal transition to sustainable energy processes will require efficient production and recovery of precious metals like lithium. Porous materials have potential for use in these application areas.

Researchers are consistently pushing the boundaries of what phases and what building blocks can be used to develop new porous materials. Porous liquids are an example of this work where flowing liquid materials are imbued with intrinsic micropores, which could be used for various applications including separations. There are still fundamental questions about the structure of the porous hosts in the liquid phase, the interface between the host and the liquid, as well as how to make these materials more accessible for large-scale applications.

My research group will explore materials and processes that address the above research challenges. We aim to develop semi-conducting polymeric-based structured contactors embedded with microporous adsorbents, for the separation of ultra-dilute gases like DAC or AWH. These contactors can then be used in electro-swing adsorption and coupled with other processes for carbon capture and utilization. My group will explore porous organic materials for their feasibility in AWH and other emerging chemical separations. Lastly, we will explore methods to make porous liquids better suited for large-scale applications while studying fundamental aspects of how they are formed and how gases interact with them.

Teaching Interests: My undergraduate training and research background have prepared me to teach the core subjects of chemical engineering. I am most interested in teaching intro to mass & energy balances (introduction to chemical engineering), thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, separations processes, and kinetics/reactor design at an undergraduate level. These foundational courses are critical for students to understand the key tenets of being a chemical engineer and I am excited for the opportunity to teach the next generation of chemical engineers. At a graduate level, I believe I can assist in modernizing the curriculum for classes focused on separation processes and/or microporous materials. I have been exposed to various microporous materials throughout my research and have extensively studied their applications for chemical separations.