News Release

Functionalised membranes for sustainable processes

Grant and Award Announcement

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research

Dutch researcher Kitty Nijmeijer of the Membrane Technology Group of the University of Twente has received a MEERVOUD subsidy from the NWO Division for Chemical Sciences (CW) for research on functionalised membranes which can separate gases in a sustainable and efficient manner. The separation of gases, for example CO2 to reduce the greenhouse effect or ethylene and ethane for the production of plastics, is one of the most important processes in the chemical industry.

Membrane technology is an energy-saving, environmentally-friendly method to separate gases from each other. A membrane is comparable to a filter and only allows the transport of certain components, whilst retaining others. However, current membranes provide too low a yield and purity of the product. In this research Nijmeijer is working on functionalised membranes that are highly selective towards a certain component and can separate a gas mixture with a considerably higher capacity.

With the MEERVOUD programme (More Women Researchers as University Lecturers) CW, together with the Division for the Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) and the Division for the Physical Sciences (EW), hopes to realise a flux of women from the large group of female postdocs with a temporary appointment to a to tenured university positions. In this programme full and part-time positions for female university lecturers are temporarily created with a guarantee of moving onto a permanent scientific position within the university. CW finances various items such as a part of the personal costs, for a maximum period of 4 years.

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