Publications

Papers

• Lee, M., Liang, Y., Cuthbertson, A.A., …, Beckham, G. T., & Knauer, K. M. Extraction, purification, and reuse of dyes from coloured polyester textiles. Nature Sustainability (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01686-7 | PDF
• Curley, J.B., Liang, Y., DesVeaux, J.S., Choi, H., Clarke, R.W., Maurya, A.K., Michener, W.E., Stanley, L.M., Wu, Y., Hesse, S.A. and Baer, A.L., …, & Knauer, K. M. 2025. Closed-loop recycling of mixed polyesters via catalytic methanolysis and monomer separations. Nature Chemical Engineering, pp.1-13. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-025-00275-x | PDF
• DesVeaux, J. S., Uekert, T., Curley, J. B., Choi, H., Liang, Y., Singh, A., Mante, O. D., Beckham, G. T., Jacobsen, A. J., & Knauer, K. M. (2024). Mixed polyester recycling can enable a circular plastic economy with environmental benefits. One Earth, 7(12), 2204–2222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.11.007 | PDF
• Knauer K, Higginson C, Liang Y, Lee M. Circular plastics technologies: depolymerization of polymers into parent monomers. Physical Sciences Reviews. 2023 Aug 24(0). https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/psr-2023-0014/html | PDF
• Liang Y, Dudchenko AV, Mauter MS. Novel method for accurately estimating membrane transport properties and mass transfer coefficients in reverse osmosis. Journal of Membrane Science. 2023 Aug 5;679:121686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2023.121686 | PDF
• Liang Y^*, Knauer KM. Trends and future outlooks in circularity of desalination membrane materials. Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology. 2023 Apr 6;2:1169158. https://doi.org/10.3389/frmst.2023.1169158 | PDF
• Qin J, Ziemann E, Bar-Zeev E, Bone SE, Liang Y, Mauter MS, Herzberg M, Bernstein R. Microporous Polyethersulfone Membranes Grafted with Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes Showing Microfiltration Permeance and Ultrafiltration Bacteriophage Removal. ACS applied materials & interfaces. 2023 Apr 3;15(14):18343-53. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c01495 | PDF
• Liang Y, Dudchenko AV, Mauter MS. Inadequacy of current approaches for characterizing membrane transport properties at high salinities. Journal of Membrane Science. 2022 Dec 2:121246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2022.121246 | PDF
• Liang Y, Gao F, Wang L, Lin S. In-situ monitoring of polyelectrolytes adsorption kinetics by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy: Application in fabricating nanofiltration membranes via layer-by-layer deposition. Journal of Membrane Science. 2021 Feb 1;619:118747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118747 | PDF
• Liang Y, Teng X, Chen R, Zhu Y, Jin J, Lin S. Polyamide nanofiltration membranes from emulsion-mediated interfacial polymerization. ACS ES&T Engineering. 2021 Jan 8;1(3):533-42. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.0c00213 | PDF
• Liang Y, Lin S. Mechanism of permselectivity enhancement in polyelectrolyte-dense nanofiltration membranes via surfactant-assembly intercalation. Environmental Science & Technology. 2020 Dec 8;55(1):738-48. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c06866 | PDF
• Liang Y, Zhu Y, Liu C, Lee KR, Hung WS, Wang Z, Li Y, Elimelech M, Jin J, Lin S. Polyamide nanofiltration membrane with highly uniform sub-nanometre pores for sub-1 Å precision separation. Nature communications. 2020 Apr 24;11(1):2015. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15771-2 | PDF
• Wang L, Liang Y, Zhang L. Enhancing performance of capacitive deionization with polyelectrolyte-infiltrated electrodes: theory and experimental validation. Environmental Science & Technology. 2020 Mar 27;54(9):5874-83. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b07692 | PDF
• Liang Y, Lin S. Intercalation of zwitterionic surfactants dramatically enhances the performance of low-pressure nanofiltration membrane. Journal of Membrane Science. 2020 Feb 15;596:117726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117726 | PDF
• Teng X, Fang W, Liang Y, Lin S, Lin H, Liu S, Wang Z, Zhu Y, Jin J. High-performance polyamide nanofiltration membrane with arch-bridge structure on a highly hydrated cellulose nanofiber support. Science China Materials. 2020 Dec;63:2570-81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-020-1335-x | PDF
• Shan L, Liang Y, Prozorovska L, Jennings GK, Ji S, Lin S. Multifold enhancement of loose nanofiltration membrane performance by intercalation of surfactant assemblies. Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 2018 Sep 28;5(11):668-74. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00430 | PDF
• Xue J, He M, Liang Y, Crawford A, Coates P, Chen D, Shi R, Zhang L. Fabrication and evaluation of electrospun PCL–gelatin micro-/nanofiber membranes for anti-infective GTR implants. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. 2014;2(39):6867-77. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TB00737A | PDF

Patents

• Liang Y, DesVeaus J, Choi H, …, Knauer K, Beckham G. Downstream process for separating a mixture of depolymerized polyester products produced from methanolysis. WO 2025015059 A1, Current Assignee: Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC Amazon com Services LLC. PDF
• Beckham, G, Minjung L, Ciaran L, Cuthbertson A, Hoon C, Liang Y, …, Knauer K. Process for sequential acetolysis-autoxidation of plastic streams. USPTO No: 63/383,293, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
• Beckham, G, Minjung L, Ciaran L, …, Cuthbertson A, Hoon C, Liang Y, Knauer K. Methods and systems for dye removal from polymer textiles. WO 2024108081 A1, Current Assignee Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC Patagonia Inc. PDF