Choi Wins Funding from King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia
In Fall 2015, ChE Assistant Professor Sunho Choi visited the campus of King Abdullah University (KAU). During the visit, he talked with faculty about the potential of a collaboration. The country of Saudi Arabia likes international research collaborations, as it is a great way to introduce new technology to schools.
This is part of a $500K funding through multi-university collaboration including Northeastern University, University of Minnesota, and KAU. The project title is “Development of new thin film technologies for membrane applications based on 2-dimensional (2D) zeolites and 3D MOFs”.
The team decided to make a membrane for clean water. The water around the sea in Saudi Arabia and the waste water pose problems. There is a demand for separation in the oil industry. The team knew that there must be a way to use technology to make the water clean. “An ideal membrane should have a well-defined pore structure and precise pore size,” Prof. Choi remarks. Part of the research was making thinner material applications.
After writing a paper together and sharing research, the PIs hope to develop a patent. Prof. Choi brings his expertise from the Nanomaterial Laboratory for Catalysis and Advanced Separations to the project. “Most of our group research relates to the environment. Separation is used to selectively get something valuable. We want to make drinking water, as this is a big issue in developing countries everywhere. I expect that this is good for larger scale water facilities,” he notes.
The research focuses on looking at properties of 2D material crystals, as they provide a larger surface area which is beneficial. The team is making porous materials and nanocomposite with substrates (like polymers). The pore size is the critical piece to making an efficient membrane. “We believe that our membrane will provide much higher performance than a traditional membrane,” Prof. Choi explains.