Global Research Partnership Investigators
2007 Winner Profiles
Dr. William Koros
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
View Dr. William Koros's presentation at the GRP Symposium
Dr. William J. Koros, KAUST Investigator, is a professor and the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair for Excellence in Chemical Engineering in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Membranes at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. Dr. Koros is an internationally recognized membrane subject-matter authority.
KAUST Investigator Award: Advanced Membranes and Sorbents for More Sustainable Hydrocarbon Utilization
This project focuses on advanced membranes and sorbents for large-scale, energy-efficient commodity production. Purification and separation processes use roughly half of all energy consumed in the enormous petrochemical industry, so higher efficiency separation processes can have a large global impact. More efficient processes also reduce CO2 emissions by requiring less fuel to power them. For example, replacing inefficient traditional thermally driven processes such as distillation with efficient membrane and sorbent processes can cut separation energy consumption by a factor of 10. Well-known examples of these types of processes include reverse osmosis membranes and ion exchange sorbents for water purification.
Scientific developments in both membranes and sorbents in this new project should also advance capabilities to treat these traditional aqueous feeds. The main goal of the work, however, is to achieve ambitious reductions in energy use and CO2 emissions by extension beyond water applications to include gas and organic feeds. Spirally-wound flat sheet membranes and porous sorbent particles are currently popular for water purification; however, this project will focus upon fiber-based membranes and sorbents, which offer the highest surface-to-volume modules. Micro-morphological engineering throughout the cross-section of each fiber will be used to control transport processes in both membranes and sorbents to suit specific applications. For example, an ultrathin external permselective skin, supported on a low-resistance microporous substrate layer, can be formed to create advanced membranes. On the other hand, an impermeable skin can be formed for sorbent fibers to enable controlling local temperature within the fiber during sorption and desorption cycles. Such a heat-conductive, but mass-impermeable, skin allows rapid thermal exchanges without mass exchange between the feed stream and a heat transfer fluid. Polymers, carbons and hybrid materials comprising polymers with either carbon or inorganic dispersed nanophases will be explored to address several important separations of interest in the Kingdom. For instance, removal of CO2 and H2S from natural gas and flue gas; separation of hydrocarbon vapor and liquid mixtures; and recovery of H2 from petrochemical streams will be some of the targets of the work.
I will also assist in launching a strong research effort at KAUST that will interact with my group at Georgia Tech. I believe this strategy will accelerate the spread of revolutionary new membrane and sorbent approaches across the globe and establish the Saudi Arabia as a leader in environmentally friendly energy technology. This outcome will have a large and positive impact on the Kingdom and the entire world.
About The Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premiere research universities. Ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities, Georgia Tech’s more than 18,000 students are enrolled in its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management, and Sciences. Georgia Tech is among the nation's top producers of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute.