Customised membranes for green and resilient industries – CUMERI

by Ali İzzet Cengiz | Dec 14, 2023

Project Manager: Prof. Ismail Koyuncu (Türkiye)
Overall budget: 7.763.052,00 EUR

In the calls of the 2022 under the Cluster 4 Industry Areas of the Horizon Europe Program, specifically under "Objective 1: Climate-neutral, circular, and digital manufacturing" and "Objective 2: Increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilient industries," 10 different projects have been awarded support by the European Commission. Within the scope of the HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01 call, the project titled "Customised membranes for green and resilient industries (CUMERI)," led by Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu from the National Membrane Technologies Application and Research Center (MEM-TEK), has been granted support. The project team includes Prof. Dr. Vahid Vatanpoor, Assistant Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Paşaoğlu, Assistant Prof. Dr. Recep Kaya, and Assistant Prof. Dr. Türker Türken.

The overall objective of CUMERI is to develop and demonstrate advanced and customised membrane systems for enhanced recovery of valuable components and improved energy efficiency at industrial facilities, while lowering CO₂emissions.

cumeri

Project Objectives:

Develop enhanced membranes for outstanding gas separation performances
Develop finetuned ceramic membranes for used lubricant oil (ULO) and additives recycling
Demonstrate at TRL7 the performance of the membrane systems for a more resilient and greener industry
Develop advanced modelling and simulation to provide guidance for the selection of membrane systems
Ensure the sustainability of the demonstrated membrane systems (including end-of-life considerations)
Ensure maximum exploitation of CUMERI results for wide and rapid market penetration

All membrane systems aim to enable greater energy efficiency and reduced emissions within their respective industries. The goal is to achieve high separation performance alongside increased chemical, mechanical, and thermal stability. Additionally, the project aims to facilitate the reuse and recycling of membranes. Beyond these objectives, our project will generate new insights into membrane separation, including various flexible solutions, to accelerate the widespread adoption of separation technologies in the industry, scientific community, and among policymakers.

To maximize the impact of CUMERI, other promising separation technologies will be explored, and the transferability of results to other industries (such as refining, pharmaceuticals, etc.) will be ensured. Through its activities, CUMERI will promote the reduction of emissions in the industry, the increased valorization of valuable chemicals, and pave the way for more energy-efficient processes, thereby encouraging flexible and circular industrial value chains.

İTÜ Faculty of Civil Engineering

It can be accepted that the history of ITU Civil Engineering Faculty was commenced in 1727 by the establishment of Humbarahane during the era of Damat İbrahim Paşa. However, this attempt was to no avail due to the martyrization of the studwents of this school by the Janissaries.

In 1734, during the grand viziership of Topal Osman Paşa, classes related to Civil Engineering was being taught in Hendesehane, which was founded in Üsküdar. Similarly, this school was also closed after three years due to the opposition of the Janissaries. The reasons of the tragedy that occured in Battle of Chesma, 1770 were inadequacy of the ships and the ignorance of the Ottoman Navy.

Although the Atlantic Map (1513) and the Map of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea (1523) by Piri Reis were the leading pieces of the era, Ottoman viziers were so ignorant that they claimed it was impossible for the Russian Baltic Fleet to reach the Mediterranean Sea assuming that there were no sea connection. With the proposal from Gazi Hasan Paşa and Baron de Tott, Mühendishane-i Bahri-i Humayun was established during the time of Sultan Mustafa III, aiming to train naval construction engineers. Since Ottoman Empire did not have any engineering schools at the time, military engineering classes were taught by French engineers beginning from 1784. French lecturers had to return to their country in 1788 with the increasing suppression from Austria and Russia, which were unwilling for the development and thriving of Ottoman Empire. In 1759, during the Grand Viziership of Koca Ragıp Paşa, Humbarahane was reopened in Karaağaç, Haliç (Golden Horn) and continued to teach even though it was incompetent. In 1792, Lağımcı Ocağı and Humbaracı Ocağı (Guild of Sappers) were established.