Doctor of Science in Engineering and Technology 

Membrane Technology | Chemical Engineering



What was my Ph.D. about?

I was investigating the role of membrane characteristics on antisolvent crystallization. My research focused on small organic compounds such as Glycine dissolved in water using Ethanol as an antisolvent. 

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

Research highlights

 


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.

 


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.


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.