Benny Freeman, chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the 2008 Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology for his work on gas separations using membranes. Freeman was recognized for a number of contributions to his field. For example, in contrast to the traditional approach of using rigid, glassy polymers for gas separation materials, Professor Freeman’s group tuned the molecular structure of polar, rubbery polymers to remove CO2 from gas mixtures missed by traditional rigid polymers. Membranes based on these materials are being deployed commercially for hydrogen purification. Today, purified hydrogen is required for many industrial processes such as the processing of crude oil into gasoline, manufacturing ammonia (for fertilizer), methanol and other chemicals.
Freeman holds the Kenneth A. Kobe Professorship in Chemical Engineering.
