Multilayered Wire Mesh-Supported Membranes for Bioethanol Dehydration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high production costs of NaA zeolite membranes for bioethanol dehydration, primarily due to expensive porous ceramic or metallic supports, and the time-consuming and costly periodic retrofitting of adsorbent beds in PSA processes, necessitate the development of more economical and energy-efficient separation technologies.
Innovation Solution
The use of multilayered woven wire mesh supports with different micron ratings, coated with a ceramic layer and seeded with membrane seed particles, to create a continuous porous membrane that selectively separates molecules based on size, reducing production costs and eliminating the need for recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If porous ceramic or metallic supports are used to support NaA zeolite membranes, then the membranes can be used for bioethanol dehydration, but the production costs become high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive porous ceramic or metallic supports with inexpensive woven wire mesh that can be easily manufactured and disposed of. The wire mesh provides sufficient mechanical support for the membrane during its service life, eliminating the need for costly ceramic or metal substrates while maintaining membrane functionality for bioethanol dehydration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses woven wire mesh with controlled pore sizes and configurations to create a porous support structure. The mesh geometry is designed to provide adequate porosity and mechanical strength while using low-cost materials, enabling cost-effective membrane production without sacrificing performance
2Reliability
If PSA process is used for dehydration of organic solvents, then dehydration can be achieved, but periodic adsorbent bed retrofitting is required which is time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous membrane filtration that operates without interruption or periodic shutdowns for adsorbent bed replacement. The membrane system provides continuous dehydration of organic solvents, eliminating the cyclical stop-start operation inherent in PSA processes and enabling uninterrupted production
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the dehydration function from the complex PSA process with its periodic adsorbent bed retrofits and isolates it in a simple, continuous membrane filtration system. This removes the need for time-consuming bed replacement operations while maintaining effective dehydration capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in a cost-effective, energy-efficient separation method for bioethanol dehydration and gas-phase separations, with the multilayered mesh structure providing mechanical strength and supporting a defect-free membrane, while reducing energy costs and increasing production capacity.
Implementation Method 1
NaA zeolite membranes, in particular, are highly effective for the dehydration of various organic solvents due to their hydrophilic properties and molecular sieving effect
Implementation Method 2
creating a pressure difference between the first surface of the supported membrane and an opposing surface of the supported membrane, wherein the pressure at the first surface is greater than the pressure at the opposing surface
Data Source
AI summary
Composite structures composed of inorganic membranes or polymer membranes supported on a multilayered woven wire mesh substrate are provided. Also provided are methods of making the composite structures and methods of using the composite structures as separation membranes. The mesh substrates are composed of a stack of two or more layers of woven wire mesh, wherein the different mesh layers in the stack have different mesh sizes. The multilayered mesh structure can support a defect-free, or substantially defect-free, membrane and has sufficient mechanical strength to allow the supported membranes to be used for chemical separations.