Coordination Funds

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Steffen Hardt
• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics ; Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering ; Energy Process Engineering ; Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis ; Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials ; Mathematics ; Physical Chemistry of Molecules, Liquids and Interfaces, Biophysical Chemistry ; Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 509491635

The purpose of the proposed Research Unit is to explore transient sieves, based on a close coordination among experiments and theory/simulations. Transient sieves constitute a novel technological concept to separate species dissolved or suspended in a liquid. While mainly stationary-state pores have been explored experimentally to date, the pores of a transient sieve change their permeability on the timescale of species passage. This should equip sieves with novel and useful properties, for example an enhanced selectivity and/or reduced energy consumption. A fundamental objective will be to understand the key phenomena in the passage of species through transient sieves. Further objectives are the experimental realization of transient properties of sieves, the optimization of the spatial structure of transient sieves and the temporal structure of the permeability, and the demonstration of the advantages of transient sieves compared to standard separation methods. The proposed Research Unit comprises three different cases of lead experiments that represent specific realizations of transient sieves. The proposed Research Unit will serve as a nucleus for novel separation technologies that has the potential to replace existing technologies in numerous different application areas.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5584: Transient Sieves