World leading engineering innovator is recognised for his outstanding achievements

Professor Andrew Livingston wins prestigious silver medal <em>– News</em>

Monday 13 July 2009
By Colin Smith

An Imperial engineer renowned for making major developments in membrane technology, which improves the energy efficiency of industrial processes, has been recognised for his outstanding achievements in chemical engineering.

Professor Andrew Livingston, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering silver medal for his innovative approach to research and his ability to turn his ideas into inventions, which have spawned new manufacturing enterprises for UK plc.

Professor Livingston is a recognised world leader and innovator in the field of membrane technology. Here, he talks about the significance of membranes and the work he is doing to push forward developments in this field.

What are membranes?
“Membranes are used in industry to separate the molecules present in gases and liquids. They are thin films that have tiny holes that allow some molecules to pass through, while other molecules cannot.”

Can you give me examples of how they are used?
“Membranes are used in the desalination process where salt is filtered out of seawater to make it drinkable. In healthcare, doctors need membranes in dialysis machines to remove waste products from the blood of people whose kidneys are failing. Without membranes in this instance, patients could die.”

Why is there a need to improve membranes?
“Improving the performance of membranes could lead to energy savings in industry, which could lessen our impact on the environment. For example, organic solvents such as alcohols and ethers are used in a range of chemical processes. Once the process is complete, large industrial plants are needed to remove these solvents from the substances that they have refined. This requires large amounts of energy, which could be saved if membranes were used to extract the organic solvents at the end of the process. Traditionally, they have not been used because membranes lose their separating properties when they are exposed to organic solvents. This is because the membranes undergo a chemical processes which causes them to swell or dissolve.”

Can you give me an example of how much energy could be saved by using membranes to extract organic solvents?
“Industrial energy usage in the United States in 2007 was 32 per cent of the total amount of energy consumed by the country. Over half of that energy was consumed by ‘process’ industries, which are the kind that use organic solvents. I estimate that if membranes were used to extract organic solvents, three to five per cent of total energy consumption in the US could be reduced.”

So how have you been improving the quality of membranes in your research?
“For the last five to six years, I’ve been working on overcoming the problems associated with using membranes in these processes. Three years ago in the lab we had a breakthrough. We realised that if you make a membrane much tougher by chemically bonding layers of membranes together they can withstand and extract organic solvents successfully.”

After the breakthrough what did you do?
“We patented the technology and licensed it out to a spinout company through Imperial Innovations. Initially, we had problems scaling up our research from the lab to industrial level. However, we won a Royal Society award grant in 2008 to build a machine to produce our tougher, reinforced membranes at an industrial scale.”

So what is your company doing now?
“We are now building a facility in west London to manufacture our membranes. I am really proud to say that Membrane Extraction Technology Ltd is bucking the credit crunch. We’ve already manufactured our toughened membranes for our first client, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithkline, which is using our membranes to concentrate and purify a pharmaceutical molecule.”

What does it mean to be a Royal Academy Silver Medal recipient?
“It is a great personal honour to be picked out and recognised in that way. I am also very proud and think it reflects well on Imperial and the environment that we have at the College. I think the UK really encourages scientists to take their ideas and use them in the real world. If you look at the charter of Imperial, it does talk about applications to industry – and to me this is recognition that I have been able to apply my research to benefit UK plc.”

Professor Livingston was presented with Royal Academy of Engineering silver medal at a ceremony in June, which was held at the Imperial War Museum.

Making membranes
Scroll through the slideshow below to find out more about Professor Livingston's research in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology.

Slide show photos taken by Karsten Seipp, Communications Division, Imperial College London.