Professor Vicki Chen
Vicki Chen is a Professor at the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology. Her team is studying ways to optimize the morphology and post-fabrication treatment of hollow fibre membranes to overcome these challenges. Hollow fibre membrane spinning and characterisation facilities were established in the Membrane Centre in early 2008, allowing custom-made hollow fibres to be fabricated and tested. Carbon dioxide is a main contaminant in natural gas production as well as a significant contributor of greenhouse gases from coal fired power plants. Gas separation via hollow fibre membranes offers attractive advantages over conventional amine absorption technology in terms of their ability to withstand high pressures and smaller process footprint. However, challenges remain in terms of the maintaining membrane lifetime and performance in the presence of other contaminants in natural gas as well as long-term aging and degradation of membrane properties.