Dehumidifying Capabilities of Ionic Liquids
Department
Chemistry
Major
Architectural Engineering
Research Advisor
Woelk, Klaus
Advisor's Department
Chemistry
Funding Source
Missouri S&T Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) Program; MS&T Energy Research and Development Center; Missouri Research Board
Abstract
This was an OURE project conducted by Austin Ramsey under the supervision of Dr. Klaus Woelk (advisor) and Dr. Rex Gerald (Senior Research Scientist, Chemistry Department). The purpose of the project was to investigate the usage of ionic liquids for dehumidifying air. The ionic liquid that was tested was 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate produced by BASF. A sample was placed in a custom built humidity control chamber which was run autonomously by a microcontroller. The ionic liquid was shown to adsorb large quantities of water from the atmosphere and then to release water when placed in an environment with less than twenty percent relative humidity.
Biography
Austin is a sophomore Architectural Engineering student and member of the Missouri S&T solar house team. He was awarded an OURE research grant for the 2010-201 academic year and is the 2nd place winner of the 2010 Missouri S&T elevator pitch competition.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Upper Atrium/Hallway
Presentation Date
06 Apr 2011, 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Dehumidifying Capabilities of Ionic Liquids
Upper Atrium/Hallway
This was an OURE project conducted by Austin Ramsey under the supervision of Dr. Klaus Woelk (advisor) and Dr. Rex Gerald (Senior Research Scientist, Chemistry Department). The purpose of the project was to investigate the usage of ionic liquids for dehumidifying air. The ionic liquid that was tested was 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate produced by BASF. A sample was placed in a custom built humidity control chamber which was run autonomously by a microcontroller. The ionic liquid was shown to adsorb large quantities of water from the atmosphere and then to release water when placed in an environment with less than twenty percent relative humidity.
