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Thomas A. Davis

3C03 Swearingen Engineering Center
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208
Phone 803.777.7540
Fax 803.777.0973
E-mail

• Curriculum Vitae [html]

Thomas A. Davis

Research Professor

Dr. Davis's research interests are in separation processes including extractions with supercritical carbon dioxide adsorption, and ion-exchange membranes (dialysis, electrodialysis, and electro-deionization) and in the production and storage of hydrogen.

Electrodialysis utilizes membranes that are selectively permeable to positively or negatively charged ions such as Na+ and Cl-. When salty solutions flow through an array of these membranes in an electric field, salt can be recovered from the solutions and concentrated to high levels. The salt can also be split to form an acid HCl and a base NaOH. The process is useful for recovery of salts or acids from wastewater streams and returning them to the chemical process. Dr Davis' laboratory has a mobile, skid-mounted electrodialysis system that can be used for treatability and process design studies in our laboratory or at a plant site. A recent application is for total utilization of seawater to produce freshwater and industrial chemicals NaCl, Mg compounds, Bromine, etc. Electrodialysis with special membranes recovers NaCl from reverse osmosis reject brine and facilitates recovery of Bromine and Mg.

Education

• Ph. D., University of South Carolina (1967)
• B. S., University of South Carolina (1961)

Selected Publications

• A First Course in Ion Permeable Membranes, T. A. Davis, J. D. Genders and D. Pletcher, The Electrochemical Consultancy, 1997.
• "Electrodialysis", T. A. Davis and D. A. Glassner, Handbook of Downstream Processing, E. Goldberg (ed.), Chapman & Hall, 1997.
• Diffusion Dialysis, T. A. Davis, Encyclopedia of Separation Science, Ian D. Wilson (ed), Academic Press, 2000.
• "Electromembrane Processes", T. A. Davis, V. Grebenyuk, and O. Grebenyuk, Membrane Technology in the Chemical Industry, S. P. Nunes and K.-V. Peinemann (ed.), Wiley-VCH, 2001.
• "Supercritical Fluid Extraction of 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene from DOE Job-Control Waste", J. Li, T. A. Davis and M. A. Matthews, Separation Science and Technology 38(12 & 13), 2979-2993 , 2003.