Graphene Oxide Membranes for Alcohol Dehydration

This project aims for innovative graphene oxide-based membranes for alcohol dehydration (GO-MAD). Ethanol obtained from the fermentation of renewable feedstock is a promising biofuel. However, purification of bioethanol to biofuel grade is energy-intensive. Indeed, only dry ethanol (> 99.7% pure) can be blended with gasoline and used in conventional gasoline-burning engines. The azeotropic nature of the water-ethanol mixture makes dewatering complicate and expensive. Thus, in the recent years, membrane technologies, namely pervaporation and vapor permeation, have been proposed as convenient alternatives to the traditional extractive distillation and adsorption processes for alcohol dehydration. The hypothesis of this project is that membranes with high stability, unprecedented water permeability, and high selectivity towards ethanol can be prepared by thermal and chemical modification of graphene oxide sheets. This original use of GO-based membranes will allow obtaining dry ethanol (far below the azoetropic limit) with low energy consumption and no additional solvents.