Title:
Control of crystal properties using membrane-assisted antisolvent crystallization
Summary:
Developing an efficient crystallization process helps greatly applications requiring a controlled crystal formation; notably in food and pharmaceutical industries. Membrane-assisted antisolvent crystallization (MAAC) is an emerging technology for the controlled antisolvent mass transport. Uniform crystal properties can be obtained according to both the operating conditions and membrane characteristics. The membranes developed should be porous and hydrophobic to avoid any membrane wetting. This work comprises first the membrane development using for example non-solvent induced separation, followed with the evaluation of membrane performance via the setup built in our lab. Besides, this thesis involves different analysis techniques essential to determine either the membrane performance in terms of mass transport or crystal and membrane properties; these include SEM, granulometry, XRD, HPLC and GC.
Starting date:
Students can be admitted as of September 2022.
Prior knowledge:
Transport phenomena, basics of chemistry and material science, data treatment (experience with Matlab, or ASPEN Plus is appreciated).
Note:
For more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to patricia.luis@uclouvain.be or sara.chergaoui@uclouvain.be
