Prof. Maria-Chiara Ferrari : Advanced polymeric membranes for carbon capture
Abstract : Carbon capture is recognised as one of the necessary tools for meeting both short and medium-term targets in lowering CO2 emissions. However, implementing carbon capture is costly, and ongoing research into innovative technologies is crucial for facilitating broader application. Polymeric membranes have attracted attention recently due to their potential to reduce the energy and costs of carbon capture but several challenges hinder their widespread use and therefore more efficient materials are required.
Traditional polymers operate under a solution-diffusion framework and are all constrained by a trade-off between productivity (i.e: how much gas can be treated) and selectivity (i.e: how good the separation is) as represented by the Robeson Upper Bound. Different strategies have been employed to overcome this trade-off ranging from the fabrication of novel polymers of microporosity to the use of composite mixed matrix membranes.
This resulted in hundreds of membranes tested for carbon capture application over the years; only a handful of the structure developed though have reached commercial application due to a lack of consideration of the real process conditions and constraints including polymer ageing and impurities effect.
In this seminar, the development of novel materials is discussed in relation to the impact of the membrane properties on the full separation process.
Bio : Maria-Chiara Ferrari is the Chair of Membrane Separations in the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
She graduated with a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Bologna in 2009. After a period of research at the University of Texas at Austin, she moved to the University of Edinburgh in 2010, where she became lecturer in Carbon Capture in 2011 and Professor in 2020.
Prof. Ferrari leads the research on membranes for carbon capture and energy applications in the School of Engineering, looking at the development of polymeric and hybrid membranes and processes to tackle environmental challenges with both experimental and modelling tools.
Prof Ferrari has secured national and international funding for projects related to membranes and in particular CCUS and currently is a Co-Investigator on the EPSRC-funded Programme Grant SynHiSel, which focuses on developing highly selective membranes to reduce separation costs. She is also involved in the Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder project DAM4CO2, which aims to convert CO2 into aviation fuels using innovative membrane reactors.
Until 2023, Prof Ferrari was one of the 10 Directors of the SCCS (Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage centre), the largest group of academic working on CCUS in the UK. She served on the council of the European Membrane Society from 2017 till 2020. Currently she is the vice-chair of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Fluid Separation Special Interest Group.
Traditional polymers operate under a solution-diffusion framework and are all constrained by a trade-off between productivity (i.e: how much gas can be treated) and selectivity (i.e: how good the separation is) as represented by the Robeson Upper Bound. Different strategies have been employed to overcome this trade-off ranging from the fabrication of novel polymers of microporosity to the use of composite mixed matrix membranes.
This resulted in hundreds of membranes tested for carbon capture application over the years; only a handful of the structure developed though have reached commercial application due to a lack of consideration of the real process conditions and constraints including polymer ageing and impurities effect.
In this seminar, the development of novel materials is discussed in relation to the impact of the membrane properties on the full separation process.
Bio : Maria-Chiara Ferrari is the Chair of Membrane Separations in the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
She graduated with a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Bologna in 2009. After a period of research at the University of Texas at Austin, she moved to the University of Edinburgh in 2010, where she became lecturer in Carbon Capture in 2011 and Professor in 2020.
Prof. Ferrari leads the research on membranes for carbon capture and energy applications in the School of Engineering, looking at the development of polymeric and hybrid membranes and processes to tackle environmental challenges with both experimental and modelling tools.
Prof Ferrari has secured national and international funding for projects related to membranes and in particular CCUS and currently is a Co-Investigator on the EPSRC-funded Programme Grant SynHiSel, which focuses on developing highly selective membranes to reduce separation costs. She is also involved in the Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder project DAM4CO2, which aims to convert CO2 into aviation fuels using innovative membrane reactors.
Until 2023, Prof Ferrari was one of the 10 Directors of the SCCS (Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage centre), the largest group of academic working on CCUS in the UK. She served on the council of the European Membrane Society from 2017 till 2020. Currently she is the vice-chair of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Fluid Separation Special Interest Group.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Contact
- Wendy Queen
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