(401bk) Ethanol water separation using biomimetic aquaporin embedded membranes

Aquaporin based biomimetic membranes has been an active topic of recent research due to the selectivity and permeability of aquaporin to water. Most efforts have been focused on using the protein incorporated membrane for desalination purposes. However, there is potential for ethanol water separation as well. While several methods for ethanol water separation exist, they are often costly due to high temperature or pressure requirements, and are limited by azeotropic conditions. In using aquaporin, it may be possible to perform this separation at low temperatures and pressure as well as around the azeotrope. While some researchers have speculated on the permeability of ethanol to aquaporin, no studies exist to support or refute these claims. It is hypothesized that an ethanol water mixture will exhibit some form of separation across aquaporin membranes. Aquaporin maintains selectivity in two ways, having charged residues to reject ionic species, and having a narrow pore diameter to reject large molecules. Since ethanol and water have similar polarities, and ethanol is larger than water, it is anticipated that water will transport across the aquaporin protein leaving behind an ethanol rich solution.