Membrane Technology and Research, Inc

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Jennifer Ly

Richard W Baker

Yu Huang

Tiem Aldajani

Ingo Pinnau

Alvin Ng

Anurag P Mairal

Johannes Gerard Wijmans

Nicholas Patrick Wynn

Ramin Daniels

Meijuan Zhou

Leland Morris Vane

Haiqing Lin

Franklin R Alvarez

Ivy Huang

Adrian Serbanescu-Martin

Processes for removing water from organic compounds, especially polar compounds such as alcohols. The processes include a membrane-based dehydration step, using a membrane that has a dioxole-based polymer selective layer or the like and a hydrophilic selective layer, and can operate even when the stream to be treated has a high water content, such as 10 wt % or more. The processes are particularly useful for dehydrating ethanol.

Dehydration processes using membranes with hydrophobic coating

A gas separation process that utilizes ejector recycle with a membrane separation step in combination with a second separation step. The second separation step may be a second membrane separation, or may involve a different type of separation process. At least a portion of the non-product (i.e. residue) stream withdrawn from the second separation step is directed back to the ejector to form a processing loop. The ejector drives the gas flow in the loop and recycles the non-product stream to the first separation step.

Membrane-based gas separation process using ejector-driven gas recycle

Processes for removing water from organic solvents, such as ethanol. The processes include distillation to form a rectified overhead vapor, compression of the rectified vapor, and treatment of the compressed vapor by two sequential membrane separation steps.

Membrane augmented distillation to separate solvents from water

Processes for dehydrating an organic/water solution by pervaporation or vapor separation using fluorinated membranes. The processes are particularly useful for treating mixtures containing light organic components, such as ethanol, isopropanol or acetic acid.

Liquid-phase and vapor-phase dehydration of organic/water solutions

An inorganic membrane suitable for ultrafiltration or nanofiltration, and methods for making and using the membrane. The membrane has a organic polymer deposited on the feed surface, but is not able to perform separations by solution-diffusion.

Ultrafiltration process

A process for producing and recovering light alcohols, particularly ethanol, alcohol mixtures containing ethanol, and ABE mixtures (alcohol mixtures containing acetone, butanol and ethanol), using a combination of steps including fermentation, first membrane separation, dephlegmation and dehydration by second membrane separation.

Ethanol recovery process

A reverse osmosis membrane, and methods for making and using the membrane. The membrane has a continuous, defect-free, non-porous, hydrophilic coating that reduces the susceptibility to fouling.

Reverse osmosis membrane and process

A process and apparatus for treating oily wastewater, such as bilge water or ballast water, generated on a ship. The process uses a combination of a centrifugal separation step and a membrane separation step, such as an ultrafiltration step. The membrane separation step uses a dense, non-porous filtration membrane. The process is able to remove both emulsified oil and dissolved oil from the wastewater to low levels.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jennifer Ly