Energy Efficient Separations

Separations are crucial for the quality and safety of many manufactured products, especially in the chemical industry. However, most separations require a lot of energy and use fuels that emit greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In Professor Fan's Lab I am evaluating an alternative low-energy gas separation process that uses a material called zeolites. Zeolites are naturally occurring silicon based materials with cage-like structures that allow small molecules to flow through them. Today, zeolites can be synthesized with pore sizes designed for specific applications. The relative size and shape between the diffusing molecule and zeolite pore determine the speed that the molecule moves inside the zeolite. Small structural differences between different compounds should lead to a large difference in diffusion rates within the zeolite and create an opportunity for separation. In my thesis, I will measure the diffusion rate of different molecules inside two zeolites: MCM-41 and SSZ-13 and assess the prospect of a new separation process.