Electroactive membranes for selective organic acid extraction
Innovative electroactive membranes facilitate efficient extraction of organic acids from complex broths, leveraging carbon cloth and PDMS to enhance selectivity and flux while preventing water and contaminant passage.
Overview
Electroactive membranes offer a groundbreaking approach for the selective extraction of organic acids from complex fermentation broths. By leveraging the unique properties of electrically conductive carbon cloth embedded within dense hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), these membranes achieve high selectivity and flux. The membranes facilitate a localized pH and temperature swing at the membrane/water interface, promoting the protonation and transport of organic acids, while effectively blocking water and other undesirable species.
Technical specifications
Key features:
- Composite Structure: Combines carbon cloth and PDMS for enhanced separation efficiency.
- Selective Extraction: Achieves a separation factor of 51.5 over water with a flux of 700 g acid/m²/hr.
- Dual Functionality of Carbon Cloth:
- Acts as a resistor to enable local heating, enhancing acid partitioning and transport.
- Functions as an electrode to drive electrochemical acid swings, increasing acid partition into the membrane.
- Hydrophobic Barrier: PDMS prevents the passage of water and contaminants, ensuring purity.
Technology readiness level
Currently at TRL 3, this technology has been validated in lab settings with composite membranes demonstrating effective organic acid separation from fermentation broths. Future work will focus on optimizing membrane synthesis, maximizing flux and selectivity, and conducting a techno-economic analysis to evaluate feasibility for commercial applications.
About University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a comprehensive public research university anchored in a global city and serving a large, diverse student body. Industry engages through an integrated academic health system that enables clinical research and translation, extensive shared instrumentation and cleanrooms, and co‑located labs that support prototyping. A new research and technology park and proximity to Southern California’s innovation economy provide convenient pathways for collaboration, sponsored projects, and access to talent. Campus research is supported by competitive federal funding from agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOE, and the Department of Defense. A dedicated technology transfer office streamlines IP protection, licensing, industry‑sponsored research, and startup incubation.
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