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Ilin_Sadeghi_TIE

Ilin Sadeghi

School: Graduate School of Engineering

Department: Chemical Engineering

TIE Affiliation

Environmental Research Fellowship

Research

Industrial wastewater is a major source of environmental pollution. Heavy metals are among the most dangerous contaminants even at low concentrations. Metal ions are not biodegradable and can accumulate in the living organisms. They can be highly toxic by binding to cell membranes. This hinders their function, causes neuronal damage, bone toxicity and cancer. Membrane separation processes offer a green and energy efficient technology for removing heavy metal ions from surface water. Some of the major problems associated with commercial membranes include low binding capacities, low selectivity for metal ions, complicated fabrication routes and high operating pressure. Ilins’ studies focus on fabrication of novel membranes with small pore size (1-3 nm) by self-assembly of functional polymers that incorporate binding sites for metal ions in a single-step and scalable fabrication process. The proposed membranes can selectively bind to metal ions while simultaneously removing microbial and larger pollutants through size-based filtration at much lower pressure than current membranes. Thus, synergistically combining benefits from high flux and low operating pressure of current ultrafiltration membranes (i.e. membranes with pore size of 5-100 nm) with high selectivity and capacity of adsorption processes. She also aims to explore the feasibility of using these membrane adsorbers for compact, portable filtration units to provide safer water in rural areas, short-term crisis (e.g. natural disaster, war, humanitarian purposes) and even camping and hiking.

Biography

Developing new water treatment technologies have been my focus since the beginning of my research career. As a master’s student, I worked on membrane separation processes and membrane surface treatment to develop anti-fouling membranes for oil/water separation. After completing my master’s degree, I worked as a researcher on water decontamination using advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) in Iran. Since coming to Tufts, working in Professor Asatekin’s lab toward a PhD degree, I gained more experience both on membrane science and polymer synthesis. Synthesizing and developing new polymers as membrane materials for custom applications ranging from waste water treatment to pharmaceuticals has broaden my view in the field of membrane separation processes.