Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
The urgent decrease of emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is imperative to avoid irreversible climate change.
There are different ways to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which range from using bio-based materials instead of fossil resources, to increase the energy efficiency of different processes and to use more renewable energy sources.
Around 10 to 15% of the world's annual energy use can be traced back to industrial chemical separation processes such as distillation. Nonetheless, there is close to no progress in this area.
Membrane-based processes are simple and compact compared to competing technologies. They represent a more energy efficient separation process, as the separation is driven by pressure rather than high temperature.
The BIOCOMEM project is tackling the CO2 emission problem on three different levels:
- direct CO2 capture,
- use of membrane-based separation, with higher efficiency and lower energy use than other separation technologies,
- and finally, the development of membranes based on bio-based precursors for membrane preparation.
In the BIOCOMEM project we will develop bio-based gas separation membranes using polyether-block-amide copolymer type (PEBAs) chemistry with improved functionality for:
- higher processability into monolithic hollow fiber membrane,
- higher gas separation performance,
- and higher resistance to chemical attack (aging).
A second primary goal is to validate at pilot scale in an industrially relevant environment (TRL 5), three production processes to manufacture gas separation hollow fiber membranes that meet specific performance requirements in application:
- upgrading of biogas,
- upgrading of natural gas, and
- post-combustion CO2/N2 separation.
This EU-funded project will decrease the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases and the overall negative environmental impacts of the chemical separation process, in an economically sustainable way.
The urgent decrease of emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is imperative to avoid irreversible climate change.
There are different ways to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which range from using bio-based materials instead of fossil resources, to increase the energy efficiency of different processes and to use more renewable energy sources.
Around 10 to 15% of the world's annual energy use can be traced back to industrial chemical separation processes such as distillation. Nonetheless, there is close to no progress in this area.
Membrane-based processes are simple and compact compared to competing technologies. They represent a more energy efficient separation process, as the separation is driven by pressure rather than high temperature.
The BIOCOMEM project is tackling the CO2 emission problem on three different levels:
- direct CO2 capture,
- use of membrane-based separation, with higher efficiency and lower energy use than other separation technologies,
- and finally, the development of membranes based on bio-based precursors for membrane preparation.
In the BIOCOMEM project we will develop bio-based gas separation membranes using polyether-block-amide copolymer type (PEBAs) chemistry with improved functionality for:
- higher processability into monolithic hollow fiber membrane,
- higher gas separation performance,
- and higher resistance to chemical attack (aging).
A second primary goal is to validate at pilot scale in an industrially relevant environment (TRL 5), three production processes to manufacture gas separation hollow fiber membranes that meet specific performance requirements in application:
- upgrading of biogas,
- upgrading of natural gas, and
- post-combustion CO2/N2 separation.
This EU-funded project will decrease the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases and the overall negative environmental impacts of the chemical separation process, in an economically sustainable way.
