When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
In the world of carbon-capture technologies, polymer membranes are mass-produced and inexpensive, while inorganic membranes are expensive but grab carbon atoms more effectively. Now, researchers at Ohio State University have developed a membrane that features the best of both worlds.
The new membrane combines the separation performance of inorganic membranes but has the cost-effectiveness of polymer membranes, reports The Engineer. The development, which has the backing of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fossil Energy (FE) Carbon-Capture Program, could have commercial potential to capture and store carbon dioxide emitted from coal-fired power plants.
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) systems aim to separate carbon dioxide from flue-gas systems and then securely store it, often in underground geological formations. However, the energy costs to perform this feat are too high to make it rapidly commercially feasible. That’s where the carbon capture program came in, and it manages the research at Ohio State.
Membranes designed to capture something (water, carbon dioxide, or oxygen) usually consist of thin layers of either polymer (organic, plastic) or inorganic (metal, ceramic) materials. This concept is effective in obtaining pure water from seawater, and it is more energy-efficient than using energy to do the same thing.
For example, if seawater is boiled and then condensed, pure water can be produced. But boiling requires heat and energy. Membranes, on the other hand, separate salt from seawater without using heat, a more cost-effective process. The Engineer explains how this concept works with the carbon dioxide membranes:
Separating CO2 from flue gas is similar: energy is still required for pre- and post-separation processes, such as compressing the gas, but for the key process of separating the CO2, new membrane technologies pioneered by FE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and its research partners are designed to eliminate most of the energy costs.
The researchers hybrid membrane has a thin, inorganic zeolite Y layer between an inorganic intermediate and a polymer cover. The three layers sit on top of a polymer support layer, which sits on a woven backing. The Ohio State scientists reduced the membrane’s fabrication rate from 43 hours to one. “Combining inorganic and organic membrane materials in a hybrid configuration is a breakthrough that could potentially lower costs associated with clean coal technologies,” says NETL project manager José Figueroa.
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