Membrane Processes Research Laboratory

Research Centre for Membrane Separation Processes has been established since 1998 in School of Chemical Engineering in Iran University of Science and Technology to investigate different membrane separation processes and membrane manufacturing techniques in order to nationalize these technologies.  View more

25+
Number of industrial projects

300+
Number of student theses

10+
Number of research projects

300+
Number of articles published in journals

590+
Number of conference papers

Introduction

Separation processes in almost all chemical industries are required to separate, concentrate, and /or purify one or more constituent of a given mixture of compounds in different phases. Membrane Separation Processes, as new and fast growing separation processes are taking a unique place in chemical, petrochemical, refinery, dairy, etc industries since they need low energy to run, no chemical agent for operation, operate in mild conditions of ambient temperature and low to moderate pressure, and have very low environmental impacts.

This center has been equipped with some pilot plants of Gas Separation, Pervaporation /Membrane Distillation, Reverse Osmosis/Ultrafiltration/Microfiltration and some other equipments like UV/Spectrophotometer, Gas Chromatography, optical microscope, Extruder (bench and pilot), film casting device, furnaces, ovens (ordinary and vacuum), and many PCs.

5 PhD, 95 MSc., and 200 BSc. students have been graduated from this center and 6 PhD, 15 MSc. and 12 BSc. students are currently working in this research center.

It must be mentioned that to enhance industrial performance of many industries and to troubleshoot some others, many projects were performed and some are running, either in bench or in pilot scale in this center.

Also, more than hundreds of scientific (ISI) papers have been published and many patents scientifically and commercially registered.

Research Fields

  • Construction of various organic and inorganic membranes
  • Water and wastewater treatment using membrane processes
  • Gas separation using membrane processes
  • Modeling membrane processes

People

Dr. Toraj Mohammadi

Director

Dr. Mansour Kazemimoghadam

Colleague at the Membrane Processes Research and Technology Center

Dr. Omid Bakhtiari

Colleague at the Membrane Processes Research and Technology Center

Dr. Saeed Rajabzadeh

Colleague at the Membrane Processes Research and Technology Center

Services

The availability of strong hardware and software facilities, as well as skilled and specialized human resources, has turned this center into a scientific hub for membrane processes. The center provides laboratory, technical, and consulting services related to separation and membrane processes.

Equipments

Membrane Rejection Measurement Device

Using various synthetic membranes (micro, ultra, and nano) in the desired equipment, the water rejection rate in the purification apparatus is measured, and the water purification and purification process is carried out.

Membrane Flux Measurement Device

Using various synthetic membranes (micro, ultra, and nano) in the desired equipment, the water flux rate in the purification apparatus is measured, and the water purification and purification process is carried out.

Gas-fired furnace

The application of this furnace is for conducting high-temperature heat operations under the desired gas atmosphere.

MBR System

The MBR (Membrane BioReactor) method or membrane bioreactor method is a type of activated sludge process used in wastewater treatment, where the liquid and solid phases are separated using membrane filtration.

Direct Osmosis System

Direct osmosis refers to the osmotic technology where drinking water is the primary product. In this type of osmosis, saline water is placed on one side of the membrane, and a draw solution or absorbent is placed on the other side. Osmotic separation occurs spontaneously and simultaneously with the flow of water from the dilute side to the concentrated side of the membrane (draw solution).

Ordinary and Vacuum Oven

An oven is used for heating, drying, and separating moisture and solvents from laboratory samples, along with precise time and temperature settings.

Gas Separation Membrane Device

In this device, the desired membrane is first installed, then a specific percentage of gases are mixed and directed towards the membrane with a certain flow rate and pressure. In this state, a portion of the gas mixture passes through the membrane while another portion does not. The flow of the gas exiting the device is fed into an analyzing device to determine the composition of the gas percentage output.

Reverse Osmosis Device

This device, in which a semi-permeable synthetic membrane is used, is employed for water purification and production of purified water using pressure application.

Evaporative Transpiration Device

The feed in this process is in liquid form (impure water), and when it comes into contact with the membrane surface, due to low pressures on the other side, components penetrate the membrane. Separation of the feed mixture occurs based on the different permeation rates.

Liquid Membrane System

One of the methods for separating different components of gas mixtures as well as liquids is the use of liquid membranes, which have a wide range of diversity. In this system, gas and liquid separation and purification are carried out using a synthetic liquid membrane.

Contacting the Membrane Processes Research and Technology Center.

Tel and Fax: (+9821) 77240051
Email:  torajmohammadi [AT] iust.ac.ir
Address: Tehran, Narmak, Iran University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemical, Petroleum, and Gas Engineering, Membrane Processes Research and Technology Center.
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