Plenary & Keynote Lectures 2024

FILTECH 2021 Conference - Prof. Liang Yin Chu

Regulation and intensification of mass-transfer and separation processes with micro-/nano-structured functional materials

Prof. Dr. Liang-Yin Chu

Membrane Science and Functional Materials Group – Sichuan University / China

Mass transfer and separation processes are important processes in many industrial fields such as chemical engineering, biomedicine and so on. The regulation and intensification of mass transfer and separation processes play a key role in the transformation of traditional technology and the development of new technology. By introducing the response behaviors of smart materials, it is possible to achieve the environmental regulation and intensification of mass transfer and separation processes, and it is one of the frontiers and hotspots in the interdisciplinary researches of chemical engineering and materials, chemistry, medicine and so on. How to construct novel mass-transfer and separation systems to break through the diffusion theory and enhance the membrane separation processes is still challenging in this field. By designing molecular-level structures and micro-/nano-structures,[1-5] we constructed responsive controlled release systems and smart membrane systems with smart materials, and pioneered the development of novel efficient smart membrane separation systems, responsive self-regulatory controlled release drug carriers with novel modes with the assistance of responsive smart materials. Thus, the difficult problems of molecular desorption in affinity membrane separations and the limited mass transfer momentum in carrier systems have been successfully solved, and the regulation and intensification of mass transfer and separation processes have been achieved. The results provide novel strategies for the regulation and intensification of mass transfer and separation processes for various applications. This presentation will introduce the recent development of stimuli-responsive smart functional membranes, including the design strategies and the fabrication strategies that based on introduction of the stimuli-responsive gates after or during membrane formation, the responsive models of versatile stimuli-responsive smart functional membranes, as well as the advanced applications of smart functional membranes for separating chemical/biological substances based on size or affinity, regulating substance concentration in reactors, and controlling release rate of drugs. With the self-regulated membrane performances, smart functional membranes show great power for global sustainable development.


Liang-Yin CHU is a Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and a Vice President at Sichuan University in China. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1995 from Northeastern University. He was promoted as a full professor of Chemical Engineering at Sichuan University in 1997 and became Director of the Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Filtration and Separation in 2001. He was a research fellow at the University of Tokyo (1999-2001) and a visiting scholar at Harvard University (2006-2007), ESPCI Paris (2007-2008) and the University of Birmingham (2011). He has authored and co-authored more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles, 83 patents, 7 books and 19 book chapters. He has received many honors and awards, including Natural Science Awards issued by the Ministry of Education (2003) and Sichuan Provincial Government (2015, 2020), Distinguished Young Scholar issued by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (2008), Distinguished Professor of Chang Jiang Scholars Program issued by the Ministry of Education (2009), the Hou Debang Chemical Science and Technology Award – Innovation Award issued by the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (2013), Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (2014), National Technological Invention Award (2018), Fellow of the Global Academy of Chinese Chemical Engineers (2021), the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Innovation (2021), the Hou Debang Chemical Science and Technology Award – Achievement Award issued by the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (2022), and Fellow of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (2022). His teaching and research are focused on mass transfer and separations, membrane materials and processes, microfluidics, smart controlled-release systems, and advanced functional materials.
Pascal Ginisty

Formation and separation of flocculated suspensions: Good practices and challenges for laboratories and industries

Dr.-Ing. Pascal Ginisty

IFTS – Institut de la Filtration et des Techniques Séparatives / France

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Wu Chen

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Dr. Wu Chen

DOW/ USA

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Steffen Schütz

Membrane technology – New developments, challenges, markets and applications

Prof. Dr. Steffen Schütz

Stuttgart University IMVT & MANN+HUMMEL / Germany

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Ralf Kirsch

From process to operation: Digital twins for filtration

Dr.-Ing. Ralf Kirsch

Fraunhofer ITWM Flow and Material Simulation / Germany

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