Uchicago Argonne, LLC

The University of Chicago

U.S. Department of Energy

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

YuPo J Lin

Seth W Snyder

Edward J St Martin

Michael P Henry

Jamie Allen Hestekin

Michelle B Arora

Saurav Datta

Robert M Cowan

Daniel H Pope

James R Frank

Michael C Trachtenberg

Santi Kulprathipanja

Anil Rajaram Oroskar

Rathin Datta

Peter R Pujado

Shih-Perng Tsai

Sarabjit Singh Randhava

Richard W Brotzman, Jr

Tijana Rajh

Nada M Dimitrijevic

Meltem Urgun-Demirtas

Norman F Sather

Linda De La Garza

Dennis Burke

Michael S Trachtenberg

A system for biological methane production and removing carbon dioxide from the methane comprises (a) a primary anaerobic digester adapted and arranged to generate a gaseous mixture comprising methane and carbon dioxide from organic materials; (b) an electrochemical reactor comprising at least one reactor cell including an anode spaced from a cathode by a porous ion exchange resin wafer with a cation exchange membrane between the anode and the resin wafer and a bipolar ion exchange membrane between the cathode and the resin wafer; the electrochemical reactor being adapted and arranged to capture gaseous carbon dioxide within the resin wafer as aqueous bicarbonate, and to electrochemically generate hydrogen gas at the cathode; and (c) a hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis bioreactor adapted and arranged to convert the bicarbonate and hydrogen from the electrochemical reactor to methane. An electrochemical reactor and a method for producing methane with reduced carbon dioxide content also are described.

System and method for biological methane gas generation and removal of carbon dioxide therefrom

A resin-wafer electrodeionization (RW-EDI) apparatus for purifying water for coffee brewing comprises a cathode; an anode; and multiple porous solid resin wafer exchange units arranged in a stack between the cathode and the anode, and an air distributor adapted and arranged to aerate the water to be purified. Each unit comprises a monovalent cation exchange membrane (CEM), an anion exchange membrane (AEM), and an ion exchange resin wafer between the CEM and the AEM, which is in contact with, and in fluid flow connection with the CEM and AEM. Each resin wafer comprises a cation exchange resin and an anion exchange resin. The units are oriented with the CEM facing the cathode and the AEM facing the anode, with space between the units defining ion concentrate chambers. Bipolar ion exchange membranes separate the anode and cathode from their nearest resin wafer exchange units.

Water production for coffee brewing by electrodeionization

A particulate magnetic nanostructured solid sorbent (MNSS) material is described herein. The particles of the MNSS comprise a plurality of tethered nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are tethered together by substantially linear hydrocarbon chains, a poly(alkylene oxide) chains, or a combination thereof connecting the nanoparticles in a three-dimensional elastic network with the nanoparticles as junctions of the network having junction functionality of about 2.1 to about 6. The surfaces of at least some of the nanoparticles comprise a polymerized siloxane bearing at least one sorption-aiding substituent selected from a hydrophilic group and a lipophilic group. The plurality of nanoparticles is made up of superparamagnetic nanoparticles or a combination of superparamagnetic and non-magnetic nanoparticles. The individual superparamagnetic nanoparticles comprise a passivating metal oxide coating around a core comprising at least one nanocrystalline metal or alloy having ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic properties.

Compositions and methods for direct capture of organic materials from process streams

The present invention provides a resin-wafer electrodeionization (RW-EDI) apparatus including cathode and anode electrodes separated by a plurality of porous solid ion exchange resin wafers, which when in use are filled with an aqueous fluid. The apparatus includes one or more wafers comprising a basic ion exchange medium, and preferably includes one or more wafers comprising an acidic ion exchange medium. The wafers are separated from one another by ion exchange membranes. The gas and aqueous fluid are introduced into each basic wafer via a porous gas distributor which disperses the gas as micro-sized bubbles laterally throughout the distributor before entering the wafer. The fluid within the acidic and/or basic ion exchange wafers preferably includes, or is in contact with, a carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme or inorganic catalyst to facilitate conversion of bicarbonate ion to carbon dioxide within the acidic medium.

Internal gas and liquid distributor for electrodeionization device

The present invention provides a resin-wafer electrodeionization (RW-EDI) apparatus including cathode and anode electrodes separated by a plurality of porous solid ion exchange resin wafers, which when in use are filled with an aqueous fluid. The apparatus includes one or more wafers comprising a basic ion exchange medium, and preferably includes one or more wafers comprising an acidic ion exchange medium. The wafers are separated from one another by ion exchange membranes. The fluid within the acidic and/or basic ion exchange wafers preferably includes, or is in contact with, a carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme to facilitate conversion of bicarbonate ion to carbon dioxide within the acidic medium. A pH suitable for exchange of COis electrochemically maintained within the basic and acidic ion exchange wafers by applying an electric potential across the cathode and anode.

Carbon dioxide capture using resin-wafer electrodeionization

The present invention provides an efficient method for creating natural gas including the anaerobic digestion of biomass to form biogas, and the electrodeionization of biogas to form natural gas and carbon dioxide using a resin-wafer deionization (RW-EDI) system. The method may be further modified to include a wastewater treatment system and can include a chemical conditioning/dewatering system after the anaerobic digestion system. The RW-EDI system, which includes a cathode and an anode, can either comprise at least one pair of wafers, each a basic and acidic wafer, or at least one wafer comprising of a basic portion and an acidic portion. A final embodiment of the RW-EDI system can include only one basic wafer for creating natural gas.

Methane production using resin-wafer electrodeionization

A method for producing succinic acid is provided, which comprises circulating a fermentation broth containing succinate ion through an electrodeionization apparatus. The apparatus comprises an anode; a cathode; a stacked ion-exchange assembly comprising a one or more oriented ion-exchange units between the anode and the cathode. Each ion-exchange unit comprises a porous ion-exchange resin wafer including an inlet and an outlet together are adapted to circulate a liquid reaction stream containing a carboxylate anion from a fermentor through the resin wafer; a flow-distributing gasket for circulating a product stream through a product reservoir; an anion exchange membrane for transporting at least a portion of the carboxylate anion to the product stream; and a bipolar ion-exchange membrane to direct protons toward the cathode and into the product stream and to direct hydroxyl ions toward the anode and into the reaction stream in the resin wafer of an adjacent ion-exchange unit.

Bioprocess utilizing carbon dioxide and electrodeionization

The present invention relates to an integrated method and system for the simultaneous production of biodiesel from free fatty acids (via esterification) and from triglycerides (via transesterification) within the same reaction chamber. More specifically, one preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a method and system for the production of biodiesel using an electrodeionization stack, wherein an ion exchange resin matrix acts as a heterogeneous catalyst for simultaneous esterification and transesterification reactions between a feedstock and a lower alcohol to produce biodiesel, wherein the feedstock contains significant levels of free fatty acid. In addition, because of the use of a heterogeneous catalyst, the glycerol and biodiesel have much lower salt concentrations than raw biodiesel produced by conventional transesterification processes. The present invention makes it much easier to purify glycerol and biodiesel.

Electrochemical method for producing a biodiesel mixture comprising fatty acid alkyl esters and glycerol

The present invention relates to a functionalized membrane contactor extraction/reaction system and method for extracting target species from multi-phase solutions utilizing ionic liquids. One preferred embodiment of the invented method and system relates to an extraction/reaction system wherein the ionic liquid extraction solutions act as both extraction solutions and reaction mediums, and allow simultaneous separation/reactions not possible with prior art technology.

Membrane contactor assisted extraction/reaction process employing ionic liquids

A bioreactor with an anode and a cathode, and a plurality of reaction chambers each having an inlet and an outlet and each including a porous solid ion exchange wafer having ion-exchange resins. Each of the reaction chambers is interleaved between a cation exchange membrane and an anion exchange membrane or between either a cation or an anion exchange membrane and a bipolar exchange membrane. A product chamber is separated from one of the reaction chambers by either a cation or an anion exchange membrane. Recirculation mechanism is provided for transporting material between the reaction chamber inlets and outlets. A method of producing organic acids, amino acids, or amines using the separative bioreactor is disclosed.

Retention of counterions in the separative bioreactor

The invention provides a system for separating oppositely-charged charge carriers, the substrate comprising a semiconductor; a ligand in electrical communication with said semiconductor; an ion-exchange resin attached to the semiconductor; an ion-exchange membrane; and an electrical conduit attaching said resin to said membrane. Also provided is a method for producing hydrogen gas, comprising: inducing charge separation in semiconductor particles so as to produce electrons and holes; oxidizing water with the holes to produce oxygen ions and protons, wherein the protons are sequestered from the oxygen ions as the protons are produced; and directing the sequestered protons to a cathode. The invention also provides a method to produce electricity comprising, inducing charge separation in semiconductor particles so as to produce electrons and holes, and completing the circuit with an electron hole transporter.

Integrated device and substrate for separating charged carriers and reducing photocorrosion and method for the photoelectrochemical production of electricity and photocatalytic production of hydrogen

An electrically and ionically conductive porous material including a thermoplastic binder and one or more of anion exchange moieties or cation exchange moieties or mixtures thereof and/or one or more of a protein capture resin and an electrically conductive material. The thermoplastic binder immobilizes the moieties with respect to each other but does not substantially coat the moieties and forms the electrically conductive porous material. A wafer of the material and a method of making the material and wafer are disclosed.

Electronically and ionically conductive porous material and method for manufacture of resin wafers therefrom

The present invention relates to a membrane contactor assisted extraction system and method for extracting a single phase species from multi-phase working solutions. More specifically one preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a method and system for membrane contactor assisted water (MCAWE) extraction of hydrogen peroxide (HO) from a working solution.

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Naperville, IL, United States of America

YuPo J Lin