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Project

Crosslinked norbornene-based polymer membranes for solvent-resistant nanofiltration

Vitamin E is essential in many biological processes, such as in immune system functions and in protecting against cell damage.

However, vitamin E blood levels are below the desirable value for a large part of the global population. Therefore, vitamin E is often synthesized as an additive dietary supplement. In this production process, toluene is used during the work-up of alpha-tocopherol, which is the most biologically active form of vitamin E, and this needs to be removed by evaporation. This process is very energy-intensive and produces a huge waste flow. By implementing solvent resistant nanofiltration (SRNF), it is possible to reduce the energy cost and the amount of solvent waste. However, these SRNF membranes are prone to swelling due to solvents, which leads to an increase in pore sizes. Therefore, a proper choice of the material is necessary.

A second important restriction results from the necessity of apolar membranes, as toluene is an apolar solvent. This leads to a limited choice of materials, and we have opted for a random copolymer consisting of norbornene-derivative to reduce the solvent swelling. The greatest advantage of this polymer is the possibility of optimization the structure in several ways. In this way, this project aims to obtain a less energy-intensive, less expensive and more sustainable concentration of vitamin E. Promising results can also be implemented in the petrochemical, fine chemicals, and pharmaceutical industry.

Date:5 Aug 2019 →  31 Oct 2023
Keywords:Polymer chemistry, Solvent resistant nanofiltration, Polynorbornene membrane synthesis and characterization, Vitamins
Disciplines:Membrane technologies, Polymers and plastics, Synthesis of materials, Organic chemical synthesis
Project type:PhD project