Nanostructured polymer membranes for selective alcohol transport
US8440765B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 10, 2011 |
| Grant date | May 14, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 12, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC08L53/02
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
The present invention relates to copolymer compositions for alcohol-selective membranes and methods of selectively separating an alcohol such as ethanol from an aqueous solution using such membranes. The copolymer compositions may be block copolymers of polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene (hereafter “SBS”) having cylindrical morphologies; graft diblock copolymers synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization of two cycloalkene monomers, wherein at least one of the cycloalkene monomers is substituted with one or more polydialkylsiloxane groups; or triblock copolymers comprising a middle block comprising a polymerized cycloalkene monomer and two end groups. The synthesized graft and triblock copolymer compositions may have a spherical, lamellar, cylindrical, double diamond, or gyroid morphologies. The copolymer compositions may contain a structural block that imparts essential mechanical properties to the membrane (e.g., polystyrene) and may also contain an alcohol transporting block (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane or polybutadiene). The copolymer compositions may have a domain spacing and a flux, where the flux increases as the domain spacing increases. The copolymer compositi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.