Journal of Membrane Science & Technology

Sustainable synthesis and separation with solvent-resistant membranes

2^nd International Conference on Membrane Science and Technology

September 13-14, 2018 | London, UK

Gyorgy Szekely

The University of Manchester, UK

Keynote: J Membr Sci Technol

Abstract:

Sustainable manufacturing is one of the grand challenges of the 21st century. It has recently been realized that conventional downstream separation processes are unsustainable because they account for as much as 80% of the total manufacturing costs, and eventually contribute to 50% of the industrial energy usage. With profit margins growing thin, there is an imperative drive for minimizing both the cost and environmental impact via process intensification (PI). PI through minimizing solvent and raw material consumption, as well as utilizing waste, can make a significant difference towards environmentally benign and economically viable chemical production. As an effective PI tool, nanofiltration is getting recognized as an emerging technology which provides green process engineering. The seminar covers the development of sustainable separation processes using solventresistant nanofiltration membranes. Examples and case studies for solvent recovery and recycling, yield enhancement, purity improvement and valorization of waste are discussed. Investigation into the polymer memory effect for nanofiltration membranes as well as its exploitation will be explained. The potential of imprinted membranes for unique separations such as three-way fractionation of solutes will be discussed. Synergistic coupling of nanofiltration and imprinting technologies for hybrid processes will also be presented. Examples will demonstrate that separation processes based on nanofiltration and molecular imprinting can reduce carbon footprint by 90% and process mass intensity by 99%. Surface modification of polybenzimidazole membranes for catalytic membrane reactors and improved stability will be discussed.

Biography :

Gyorgy Szekely received his MSc Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary and he earned his PhD Degree in Chemistry under the European Commission’s Marie Curie Actions from the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany. He worked as an Early Stage Researcher in Hovione Pharma Science and an IAESTE Fellow at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He was a Research Associate working with Andrew Livingston on molecular level separations in Imperial College London, UK. He is currently a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at The University of Manchester, UK since 2014. He is an Adjunct Faculty at Saveetha University and recipient of the Distinguished Visiting Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering. His multidisciplinary professional background covers, Supramolecular Chemistry, Molecular Recognition, Molecular Imprinting, Process Development, Waste Utilization, Nanofiltration and Pharmaceutical Impurity Scavenging. He serves as an Academic Editor for the journal Advanced Materials Letters, the Secretary General for the Marie Curie Fellows Association, and a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research interests and activities can be followed through his personal website at szekelygroup.com.

E-mail: gyorgy.szekely@manchester.ac.uk