Assistant Prof. Razi Epsztein
Faculty:
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Main energy field:
Energy storage and conversion; Energy-efficient membrane separation; Recovery of valuable elements for energy production.
About:
Ph.D. 2013 – 2017, Technion, Environmental Engineering
M.Sc. 2010 – 2012, BGU, Environmental Engineering
B.Sc. 2006 – 2010, BGU, Biotechnology Engineering
Research Area in Energy:
Our group focuses on development of membrane processes for selective separation at the water-energy nexus. In light of the growing efforts to understand and improve solute-solute selectivity in membrane processes, we strive to explore the fundamentals underlying molecular transport and selectivity in membranes and nanopores, and use the insights gained to develop selective membranes for energy-efficient separations, fuel cells, and recovery of valuable elements for energy production.
Research Interests:
Fuel Cell Technologies – Developing improved ion-exchange membranes .
Energy-efficient membranes separation – Developing solute-specific membranes to reduce osmotic pressure gradients and increase water recovery.
Recovery of valuable elements for energy production – Developing membranes to harvest valuable elements from water for energy production.
Selected Publications:
Shocron A. N., Roth R. S., Epsztein R., Suss M. E., (2022) ‘Comparison of ion selectivity in electrodialysis and capacitive deionization’, Environmental Science & Technology Letters 9, 889-899
Shefer I., Peer-Haim O., Epsztein R., (2022) ‘Limited ion-ion selectivity in salt-rejecting membranes due to enthalpy-entropy compensation’, Desalination 541, 116041
Shefer I., Lopez K., Straub A. P., Epsztein R., (2022) ‘Applying transition-state theory to explore molecular transport and selectivity in salt-rejecting membranes: A critical review’, Environmental Science & Technology 56, 7467-7483
Pavluchkov V., Shefer I., Peer-Haim O., Blotevogel J., Epsztein R., (2022) ‘Indications of ion dehydration in diffusion-only and pressurized nanofiltration’, Journal of Membrane Science 648, 120358
Ritt C. L., Liu M., Pham T. A., Epsztein R., Kulik H. J., Elimelech M., (2022) ‘Machine learning reveals key ion selectivity mechanisms in polymeric membranes with subnanometer pores’, Science Advances 8, eabl5771
Shefer I., Peer-Haim O., Leifman O., Epsztein R., (2021) ‘Enthalpic and entropic selectivity of water and small ions in polyamide membranes’, Environmental Science & Technology55, 14863-14875
Nativ P., Leifman O., Lahav O., Epsztein R., (2021) ‘Desalinated brackish water with improved mineral composition using monovalent-selective nanofiltration followed by reverse osmosis‘, Desalination520, 115364
Epsztein R., DuChanois R. M., Ritt C. L., Noy A., and Elimelech M., (2020) ‘Towards single-species selectivity of membranes with sub-nanometer pores’, Nature Nanotechnology, in press
Patel S. K., Ritt C. L., Deshmukh A., Wang Z., Qin M., Epsztein R., and Elimelech M., (2020) ‘The relative insignificance of advanced materials in enhancing the energy efficiency of desalination technologies’, Energy & Environmental Science, Advance Article
Qin M., Deshmukh A., Epsztein R., Patel S. K., Owoseni O. M., Walker W. S., and Elimelech M., (2019) ‘Comparison of energy consumption in desalination by capacitive deionization and reverse osmosis’, Desalination 455, 100-114