Overview

This webinar celebrates the award of the 2026 Underwood Medal to Dr Zhiwei Jiang.

Energy-intensive separation processes in the fossil fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries account for approximately 10–15% of global energy consumption, largely because conventional evaporation and distillation rely on energy-intensive phase changes. Membrane technologies offer a fundamentally more energy-efficient alternative by separating molecules according to size or chemical affinity without requiring phase transitions, with the potential to reduce associated carbon emissions by up to 90%. However, their broader application has long been constrained by difficulties in simultaneously controlling membrane thickness, molecular transport, and pore dimensions with high precision.

To address these challenges, we developed a free-interface interfacial polymerization process that enables the fabrication of ultrathin selective layers with thicknesses below 10 nm. By minimizing the transport distance across the membrane, these nanofilms achieve orders-of-magnitude increases in liquid permeation rates. We further introduced hydrophobic building blocks into the membrane precursors, transforming the membrane surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and thereby facilitating the rapid transport and selective fractionation of non-polar hydrocarbon liquids, including crude-oil components.

Beyond reducing membrane thickness, we introduced porous molecular building blocks with rigid and precisely defined cavities, including porous organic cages and macrocycles, into the membrane architecture. By aligning these intrinsic molecular cavities to form transmembrane transport pathways, we achieved control over effective pore dimensions with ångström-level precision. Such precisely defined molecular channels enable highly selective discrimination between pharmaceutical molecules with very similar molecular sizes, opening opportunities for energy-efficient membrane separations in high-value pharmaceutical manufacturing.

More recently, we developed an in-situ locking strategy for polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), in which the microporous polymer structure is locked during membrane formation to suppress polymer-chain rearrangement and solvent-induced swelling in hydrocarbon liquids. When challenged with Arabian Extra Light crude oil, the resulting membranes rejected 99.8% of hydrocarbons above C15, producing a permeate enriched in the kerosene boiling range. These results demonstrate the potential for molecularly engineered membranes to replace, or substantially reduce reliance on, conventional distillation in crude-oil fractionation, providing a pathway towards dramatically more energy-efficient industrial separations.

Speaker

Zhiwei Jiang, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

Dr Zhiwei Jiang is a Nanyang Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and an internationally recognised expert in membrane science and molecular separations. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and subsequently held research positions at Imperial and Queen Mary University of London. A recipient of a UK Future Leaders Fellowship, he has led pioneering research in ultrathin membrane technologies for sustainable chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical purification and hydrocarbon separations. His research has been published in leading journals including Nature, Science and Nature Materials

The material presented at this event has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter's own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Fluid Separations Special Interest Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Time

09:00–10:00 BST.

Software

The presentation will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. We recommend downloading the app from the Microsoft website, rather than using the web portal.