Project Title:
Development of functional ceramic nanofiltration membranes
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396
VITO is a leading research centre in Flanders (Belgium) in the field of sustainable environmental and (bio)process technology development. More information on www.vito.be.
Project Description
Molecular separation in water with membranes are possible since the last half of the 20th century thanks to the emergence of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Membrane separation at the molecular level in organic solvents emerged as a new area in membrane technologies during the 90ties. The progress in this area is accelerated since 2000, due to the enormous potential of these membranes in a wide range of industrial applications. Thanks to their unique properties, such as broad chemical and thermal stability, ceramic membranes have great potential in organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN).
The sate-of-the-art nanoporous ceramic membranes for OSN are transition metal oxide membranes, containing a large amount of surface OH-groups. Such membranes are strongly hydrophilic leading to a lower performance in apolar solvents. This can be remediated by post-modification hydrophobisation. In collaboration with the University of Antwerp, VITO has been exploring a new versatile post-modification method based on Grignard chemistry. In the process, direct covalent and stable non-hydrolysable bonds can be established.
The objective of the proposed project is to develop reproducible and high-performing hydrophobic ceramic nanofiltration membranes at semi-industrial scale, using the innovative method developed at VITO. Moreover, the project aims to explore the grafting of other functional groups besides hydrophobic groups, in order to explore the potential of this method to produce membranes for affinity nanofiltration in organic solvents.
Required education/discipline: Phd in material science, chemistry, or chemical engineering
Contact persons for more information: Anita Buekenhoudt (anita.buekenhoudt[ at ]vito.be )
Generic EU Marie Curie Actions Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants should not be either (i) a national of; or (ii) resident for greater than 12 months of the last 36 months in the country of the host institution unless they have spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the EU and Associated States.
Link:
Project Title:
Development of functional ceramic nanofiltration membranes
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396<
Country: Belgium
