Dutch Scientists Invent Patented Molecular Construction To Improve BioFuel Creation

The trouble many people involved in creating biofuels face is that water and steam mess up their potions. But now Dutch scientists of the Univerity of Twente have come up with a solution.

They have developed a new type of membrane, which can stand high temperatures for a long period of time. The researchers refer to their invention as a ‘molecular sieve’. The construction works pretty much like a sifting mechanism and is capable of removing water out of solvents and biofuels, the scientists claim. They add that the sieve is a very energy efficient alternative compared to distillation. A full article will appear in the UK journal Chemical Communications this week. “Even after testing during 18 months, the new membranes prove to be highly effective, while having continuously been exposed to a temperature of 150 ºC”, the scientists write. “Existing ceramic and polymer membranes will last considerably shorter periods of time, when exposed to the combination of water and high temperatures.” The scientists managed to do this using a new ‘hybrid’ type of material combining the best of both worlds of polymer and ceramic membranes. The result is a membrane with pores sufficiently small to let only the smallest molecules pass through. “Ceramic membranes, made of silica, degrade because they react with water and steam. In the new membrane, part of the ceramic links is therefore replaced by organic links”, the scientists say. This way, water doesn’t have the chance to ‘attack’ the membranes. The invention has been patented worldwide. The scientists cooperated with the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and the University of Amsterdam, the Inorganic Materials Science Group of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology (UT).