Research Fellow in Membrane Science and Technology

Separation Processes | Chemical Engineering

What is my Postdoc about?

I am investigating the potential of lignin conversion into high-value chemicals. These compounds serve as precursors for plastics, synthetic fibers, dyes, and solvents, key building blocks for a sustainable chemical industry.

I am focusing on the extraction, recovery, and purification of muconic acid from fermentation broth. Muconic acid is a six-carbon unsaturated dicarboxylic acid and a strategic intermediate for producing adipic acid, a precursor to nylon.

On this platform, I share research outcomes and different activities with the membrane community.

Research highlights

Celebrating Membrane Day

In Memory of

Professor Enrico Drioli

Modulating crystal polymorphism via membrane-regulated supersaturation: an experimental and molecular dynamics simulation study

Sara Chergaoui, Elena Tocci, Carmen Rizzuto, Giuseppe Prenesti, Damien P. Debecker, Tom Leyssens, Patricia Luis

This study investigates membrane-assisted antisolvent crystallization (MAAC) as a method to control glycine polymorphism and crystal growth by regulating supersaturation through ethanol diffusion using PVDF membranes. Experiments combined with molecular dynamics simulations revealed that MAAC promotes α-glycine formation with uniform crystal size, while simulations showed that cyclic dimers favor α-glycine at low supersaturation and disordered aggregates lead to β-glycine at higher levels. Ethanol’s role in modulating hydrogen bonding and molecular self-assembly was confirmed, and induction times decreased significantly with increasing supersaturation, demonstrating the kinetic control achieved by MAAC.

Full article at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139803

Tuning membrane properties to control supersaturation of antisolvent crystallization

Sara Chergaoui, Jimmy Lauzer, Damien P. Debecker, Tom Leyssens and Patricia Luis

Flat sheet polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were prepared using non-solvent induced phase separation, to illustrate the impact of membrane characteristics on the resulting crystal size distribution (CSD) obtained using membrane-assisted antisolvent crystallization (MAAC). The crystallization of glycine was taken as case study. We showed the antisolvent transmembrane flux increased when the membrane thickness decreased, or when the hydrophobicity or the porosity increased.

Full article at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2024.122415

Control of Antisolvent Mass Transfer through Porous Membranes for the Crystallization of Organic Compounds

Sara Chergaoui, Damien P. Debecker, Tom Leyssens and Patricia Luis

In this work, membrane-assisted antisolvent crystallization (MAAC) was used to crystallize the amino acid L-serine. Two commercial membranes made of polyvinylidene fluoride and polypropylene with water contact angles of 130° and 150°, respectively, allowed a controlled antisolvent crystallization.

Full article at: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00408

Key Parameters Impacting the Crystal Formation in Antisolvent Membrane-Assisted Crystallization

Sara Chergaoui, Damien P. Debecker, Tom Leyssens and Patricia Luis

This work investigates the impact of solution velocity, the effect of antisolvent composition, the temperature, and gravity, using glycine-water-ethanol as a model crystallization system, and polypropylene flat sheet membranes.

Full article at: https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020140

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