David Jassby, Assistant Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, will present: “Electrically Conducting Membranes for Water Treatment Applications”

Summary:

The treatment and recovery of water from highly contaminated sources remains a serious challenge across multiple sectors and industries. While existing treatment technologies can produce the desired water quality, the costs in terms of energy, chemicals, and physical footprint, are often unacceptably high. Electro-active polymeric membranes offer significant advantages over traditional membrane materials, including fouling elimination, electrooxidation and electroreduction of aqueous contaminants, and self-heating properties. The goal of our research program is the development of innovative electrically conducting polymeric membrane materials and the characterization of their electronic and transport properties. Furthermore, we are interested in scalable manufacturing methods that can be used to fabricate large-area membrane materials, and the development of novel treatment processes that utilize the unique properties of our membranes. This talk will cover two ongoing research projects, including (1) the fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotube-based polymeric membrane materials; and (2) harnessing electrochemical reactions for enhanced water treatment processes. These projects rely on a combination of experimental and theoretical studies, and build on our expertise in colloidal science, electrochemistry, microbiology, and membrane separations.

Biography:

David Jassby is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at UC Riverside. He received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Duke University (2011), an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Davis (2005), and a B.Sc. in Biology from Hebrew University (2002). Jassby’s research is primarily concerned with the development and testing of novel polymeric membrane materials and membrane-based water treatment processes. His lab is currently engaged in research concerning the application of electrochemical reactions in membrane fabrication and treatment, wastewater treatment, oil/water separations, groundwater remediation, and the use of nanoparticles as anti-microbial agents in agriculture.