Chemical Engineering July 2022 - 7

Upcycling aerospace scrap materials into
new membranes
temperatures (60°C)
that natural ones.
A
new membrane for separating emulsions
is being fabricated using recycled
carbon-fiber production scraps
from aerospace manufacturing. " We
think this is the first membrane of its type to
be constructed from recycled carbon fibers, "
explains Shuaifei Zhao, senior research fellow
in the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) at
Deakin University (Victoria, Australia; www.
deakin.edu.au), where the new membrane
was developed.
In order to prepare the scrap carbon fibers
for use in the membranes, the IFM team applied
a specialized recycling process involving
pyrolysis, thermal oxidation and ball milling.
" Typically, the spent composite was heated in
a nitrogen atmosphere at high temperatures to
degrade the polymer resin, forming a char on
the fibers. Then, the material is heated again in
air, which provides an oxidizing atmosphere to
completely degrade any residual char and oxidize
residual char from the fiber surface, " says
Zhao. Once these treatment steps are complete,
the reclaimed fibers undergo ball milling
and sieving to obtain the desired fiber length.
To fabricate the membrane, a dip-coating
method was used wherein the substrate membrane
was dipped into a dispersion of functionalized
carbon fibers in tannic acid (a common
crosslinking substance), in the presence
of a 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES)
solution. " The key novelty is the functionalization
of the reclaimed carbon fibers to construct
a special hierarchical structure, which
increases the membrane's surface roughness
and improves the reaction between the fibers,
tannic acid and APTES, providing the membrane
with its superhydrophilic and underwater
superoleophobic properties, " adds Zhao.
The carbon-fiber-recycling process has
been scaled up for industrial production by
Gen2 Carbon Ltd. (West Midlands, U.K.;
www.gen2carbon.com). IFM is working to
demonstrate the membrane's performance in
industrial conditions, focusing on long-term
stability, cleaning requirements and replacement
frequency. The team expects that the
membrane could have wide-ranging applications
with favorable economics, since the
use of recycled materials lowers overall membrane-construction
costs and the fabrication
process can be readily automated.
H2O2
Scientists from Tokyo
University of Science
(www.tus.ac.jp) and
Nara Women's University
(both Japan; www.
nara-uu.ac.jp) have
demonstrated a way
to make hydrogen peroxide
from spent coffee
grounds (SCG) and
tea leaf residue (TLR).
Both SCG and TLR
are generated in large
quantities as a waste
product from coffee
and tea, which are the
two most popular beverages
in the world.
Both waste products
also contain polyphenols,
which can easily,
and cost-effectively
produce H2O2.
The team's production
method involved
(Continues on p. 8)
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7
https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/ http://www.nara-wu.ac.jp/nwu/en/ http://www.nara-wu.ac.jp/nwu/en/ http://deakin.edu.au http://deakin.edu.au http://www.gen2carbon.com http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/82583-03 http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2022
