Enhancement of the flux for polypropylene hollow fiber membrane in a submerged membrane-bioreactor by surface modification

To improve its limiting flux and antifouling characteristics in a submerged membrane-bioreactor （SMBR） for wastewater treatment, polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membrane （PPHFMM） was surface-modified by the plasma-induced immobilization of poly （N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone） （PVP） and the plasma treatment with different gases respectively. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR/ATR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and field emission scanning electron microscope （FE-SEM） were used to characterize the structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface. Water contact angle was measured by the sessile drop method. It was found that the water contact angle was 128.8, 72.3, 62.7, 74.4, 79.1, 86.3, and 71.3° for the nascent, PVP-immobilized, air, 02, Ar, CO2 and H2O plasma treated PPHFMM, respectively. The SMBR was operated at fixed transmembrane pressure to determine the limiting flux for the PPHFMM before and after surface modification. Results showed that the limiting flux appeared to be 103, 159, 117, 133, 136, 121 and 152 L/（m^2· h） for the nascent, PVP-immobilized, air, O2, At, CO2 and H2O plasma treated PPHFMM, respectively. After continuous operation for about 50 h in the SMBR, the antifouling characteristics were improved to some extent.

Effects of cement content, polypropylene fiber length and dosage on fluidity and mechanical properties of fiber-toughened cemented aeolian sand backfill

Using aeolian sand(AS)for goaf backfilling allows coordination of green mining and AS control.Cemented AS backfill(CASB)exhibits brittle fracture.Polypropylene(PP)fibers are good toughening materials.When the toughening effect of fibers is analyzed,their influence on the slurry conveying performance should also be considered.Additionally,cement affects the interactions among the hydration products,fibers,and aggregates.In this study,the effects of cement content(8wt%,9wt%,and 10wt%)and PP fiber length(6,9,and 12 mm)and dosage(0.05wt%,0.1wt%,0.15wt%,0.2wt%,and 0.25wt%)on fluidity and mechanical properties of the fibertoughened CASB(FCASB)were analyzed.The results indicated that with increases in the three aforementioned factors,the slump flow decreased,while the rheological parameters increased.Uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)increased with the increase of cement content and fiber length,and with an increase in fiber dosage,it first increased and then decreased.The strain increased with the increase of fiber dosage and length.The effect of PP fibers became more pronounced with the increase of cement content.Digital image correlation(DIC)test results showed that the addition of fibers can restrain the peeling of blocks and the expansion of fissure,and reduce the stress concentration of the FCASB.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)test indicated that the functional mechanisms of fibers mainly involved the interactions of fibers with the hydration products and matrix and the spatial distribution of fibers.On the basis of single-factor analysis,the response surface method(RSM)was used to analyze the effects of the three aforementioned factors and their interaction terms on the UCS.The influence surface of the two-factor interaction terms and the three-dimensional scatter plot of the three-factor coupling were established.In conclusion,the response law of the FCASB properties under the effects of cement and PP fibers were obtained,which provides theoretical and engineering guidance for FCASB filling.

Effect of Surface Modification on Microwave Absorbing Properties of Magnetic Metal Fibers

In order to avoid forming an electrical conductive network due to surface connections, the magnetic metal fibers were coated with SiO2, for surface modification by the sol-gel process. The microstructure, composition and electromagnetic characteristics of SiO2-coated and uncoated metal fibers were studied using SEM, EDAX, and a voter network analyzer. The reflectivity was simulated using the RAMCAD software. The electromagnetic parameters and absorption properties of SiO2-coated metal fibers were improved greatly due to optimal impendence matching and the electric conductivity decreased, compared to those of uncoated materials.

Characteristics of Coaxial Dielectric Barrier Discharge at an Atmospheric Pressure with a Swirling Gas Argon/Oxygen Mixture for the Surface Modification of Polyester Fiber Cord

Abstract A newly developed coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor with a length of 1000 mm at an atmospheric pressure was used for plasma treatment of polyester fiber cord in a roll-to-roll manner. In this reactor, swirling mixture gases of oxygen of about 1% and argon with a flow rate of 1.5 L/rain to 2.7 L/min ensured the gas usage sparing, discharge uniformity and efficient fiber surface modification. The water contact angle and surface morphology of the treated fiber were measured. The results show that the surface oxygenation is mainly responsible for the wettability improvement of the fiber cord when passing through the plasma zone at a linear speed of 3 m/min to 8 m/rain. The specimens of modified-polyester fiber reinforced rubber composite were also prepared for the interracial shear strength tests. Furthermore, the effect of adding oxygen into argon discharge on the fiber surface oxidation was correlated with optical emission spectroscopy. Finally, the effect of adding oxygen into argon discharge on the kinetic processes of the active species generation were also analyzed.

Adjusting the interfacial adhesion via surface modification to prepare high-performance fibers

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)fiber is a new kind of high-performance fiber.Due to its excellent physical and chemical characteristics,it is widely used in various fields.However,the surface UHMWPE fiber is smooth and demonstrates no-polar groups.The weak interfacial adhesion between fiber and resin seri-ously restricts the applications of UHMWPE fiber.Therefore,the surface modification treatments of UHMWPE fiber are used to improve the interfacial adhesion strength.The modified method by adding nanomaterials elu-cidates the easy fabrication,advanced equipment and proper technology.Thus,the progress of UHMWPE nanocomposite fibers prepared via adding various nanofillers are reviewed.Meanwhile,the effects of other various methods on surface modification are also reviewed.This work advances the various design strategies about nano technologies on improving interfacial adhesion performance via treatment methodologies.

Effect of Polypropylene Fiber on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Loess with Different Water Content

Fiber-reinforced soils have been of great interest to experimenters for building foundations’strength performance,time,and economy.This paper investigates the effects of water content and polypropylene fiber dosage and length on loess’s unconfined compressive strength(UCS)according to the central composite response surface design test procedure.The water content is 11%–25%,the mass ratio of fiber to soil is 0.1%–0.9%,and the fiber length ranges from 6–18 mm.The response surface method(RSM)developed full quadratic models of different variables with response values.After analysis of variance(ANOVA),the mathematical model developed in this study was statistically significant(p≤0.05)and applicable to the optimization process.The optimization results showed that the optimal water content values,fiber amount,and fiber length were 16.41%,0.579%,and 14.90 mm,respectively.The unconfined compressive strength of the optimized specimens was increased by 288.017 kPa.The research results can reference the design and construction of fiber-reinforced soil in practical projects such as road base engineering and foundation engineering.

Study on Abrasion Resistance of Modified Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Cement

Modified polypropylene fiber reinforced cement compos-ites were investigated in their abrasion resistance andsurface morphology. The test results showed the addingof fiber could noticeably improve the abrasion resistanceof composite. The bonding and friction of fibers/cementwere the main contribution to abrasion resistance im-provement, which resulted from the surface morphologyobservation.

The effect of pulse voltage rise rate on the polypropylene surface hydrophilic modification by ns pulsed nitrogen DBD

The nanosecond(ns) pulsed nitrogen dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) is employed to enhance the hydrophilicity of polypropylene(PP) surface and improve its application effect.The discharge characteristics of the ns pulsed nitrogen DBD with different pulse rise times(from 50to 500 ns) are investigated by electrical and optical diagnostic methods and the discharge uniformity is quantitatively analyzed by image processing method.To characterize the surface hydrophilicity,the water contact angle(WCA) is measured,and the physical morphology and chemical composition of PP before and after modification are analyzed to explore the effect of plasma on PP surface.It is found that with increasing pulse rise time from 50 to 500 ns,DBD uniformity becomes worse,energy efficiency decreases from 20% to 10.8%,and electron density decrease from 6.6 × 10^(11)to 5.5 × 10^(11)cm^(-3).The tendency of electron temperature is characterized with the intensity ratio of N_(2)/N_(2)^(+)emission spectrum,which decreases from 17.4 to15.9 indicating the decreasing of T_(e) with increasing pulse rise time from 50 to 500 ns.The PP surface treated with 50 ns pulse rise time DBD has a lower WCA(~47°),while the WCA of PP treated with 100 to 500 ns pulse rise time DBD expands gradually(~50°–57°).According to the study of the fixed-point WCA values,the DBD-treated PP surface has superior uniformity under50 ns pulse rise time(3° variation) than under 300 ns pulse rise time(8° variation).After DBD treatment,the increased surface roughness from 2.0 to 9.8 nm and hydrophilic oxygencontaining groups on the surface,i.e.hydroxyl(-OH) and carbonyl(C=O) have played the significant role to improve the sample’s surface hydrophilicity.The short pulse voltage rise time enhances the reduced electric field strength(E/n) in the discharge space and improves the discharge uniformity,which makes relatively sufficient physical and chemical reactions have taken place on the PP surface,resulting in better treatment uniformity.

SURFACE MODIFICATION OF MICROPOROUS POLYPROPYLENE MEMBRANES BY GRAFT POLYMERIZATION OF N,N-DIMETHYLAMINOETHYL METHACRYLATE

Surface modification of microporous polypropylene hollow fiber membranes was performed by radical-induced graft polymerization of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA). The influences of temperature, monomer concentration and pre-adsorbed amount of benzoyl peroxide on grafting degree were studied respectively. It was found that the appropriate graft temperature was 75 'C, at which the grafting degree was the highest and the hydrolytic decomposition of DMAEMA the lowest. Scanning electron photomicrography and the average pore diameters of the modified membranes demonstrated that part of the micropores on the membrane surface was plugged by the grafted polyDMAEMA chains, especially at high grafting degree. Contact angle and water swelling experiments showed that a moderate grafting degree could improve the hydrophilicity of the membranes. In the range of 11.3%-12.0% grafting degree, the water swelling percentage reached its maximum (51.1%) and the contact angle reached its minimum (74 degrees). The bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption experiment indicated that the grafted polyDMAEMA had a dual effect on protein adsorption. At the first stage, the BSA adsorption decreased with increasing of DMAEMA grafting degree. As the interaction between BSA and polyDMAEMA on membrane surface increased, the BSA adsorption increased with increasing of DMAEMA grafting degree.

SURFACE MODIFICATION OF POLYPROPYLENE MICROPOROUS MEMBRANES BY THE ADSORPTION OF NON-IONIC SURFACTANTS

Surface modification by physical adsorption of a series of non-ionic surfactants including Tween 20, Tween 40, Tween 60, Tween 80 and Tween 85, was accomplished on polypropylene microporous hollow fiber and flat membranes. The adsorption curve of the membrane surface was analyzed by weight measurements and the typical results showed a twoplatform character similarly. Differences in the degree and curve shape of adsorption resulting from such factors as concentration, temperature, as well as water cleaning time were observed for Tween 85 among other Tweens. Attenuated total reflection - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy observation showed that the adsorption of Tween on polypropylene microporous membrane （PPMM） is effective and occurs mainly in the pores of PPMMs at low adsorption amount, and on the membrane surface also at high adsorption value.

SURFACE MODIFICATION OF POLYPROPYLENE MICROPOROUS MEMBRANE BY TETHERING POLYPEPTIDES

Two kinds of polypeptides were tethered onto the surface of polypropylene microporous membrane （PPMM） through a ring opening polymerization of L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride initiated by amino groups which were introduced by ammonia plasma and y-aminopropyl triethanoxysilane treatments. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR/ATR）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, together with water contact angle measurements were used to characterize the modified membranes. XPS analyses and FT-IR/ATR spectra demonstrated that polypeptides are actually grafted onto the membrane surface. The wettability of the membrane surface increases at first and then decreases with the increase in grafting degrees of polypeptide. Platelet adhesion and murine macrophage attachment experiments reveal an enhanced hemocompatibility for the polypeptide modified PPMMs. All these results give evidence that polypeptide grafting can simultaneously improve the hemocompatibility as well as reserve the hydrophobicity for the membrane, which will provide a potential approach to improve the performance of polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membrane used in artificial oxygenator.

Intumescent Flame-retardant Modification of Polypropylene/Carbon Fiber Composites

To improve the flame resistance of polypropylene(PP)/carbon fiber(CF)composite materials,triazine char-forming agent(TCA)was compounded with ammonium polyphosphate(APP)or modified APP(CS-APP)in a 2:1 ratio to prepare intumescent flame retardant(IFR)and the modified intumescent flame retardant(CS-IFR)in this paper.Flame retardancy and thermal degradation behaviors of the composites modified by IFR and CS-IFR were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR),contact angle measurement,oxygen index(OI),vertical burning tests(UL-94),thermogravimetric analyer(TGA),and thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared(TG-FTIR).It was found that 25.0 phr of IFR and 24.0 phr of CS-IFR could improve the LOI value of PP/CF composites to 28.3%and 28.9%,respectively.At the same time,a UL-94 V-0 rating was achieved.The experimental results show that the IFR and CS-IFR prepared could effectively improve the flame retardancy and thermostability of PP/CF composites,and they would greatly expand the application range of PP/CF composite materials.

Surface Modification and Characterization of PET Fibers

Improvement in synthetic fiber based composites is a hot topic in the material area.The incompatibility between the surfaces of synthetic fibers is a significant challenge due to fibers hydrophobic property.In this study,PET(polyethylene terephthalate) fibers based on low hydrophilic were slightly treated with NaOH or sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate(SDBS).SEM images showed that there were some pits on the surface of PET fibers treated by NaOH,while PET fibers treated by SDBS became smoother.The peaks at 3725 cm^(-1) and 3628 cm^(-1) were generated for PET fibers treated by NaOH,which was attributed to—OH produced from the ester group hydrolysis,but no same peak is shown for the treated ones by SDBS.Meanwhile,the crystallinity indices of the treated PET fibers slightly decreased.Compared with original PET fibers,the formation of sheet made from PET fibers treated by NaOH became worse,but that from SDBS treated PET fibers became better.

Fibrous Separator with Surface Modification and Micro-Nano Fibers Lamination Enabling Fast Ion Transport for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Appropriate materials collaborated with reasonable structure can significantly increase the separator performance for lithium-ion batteries.In this work,taking the advantages of microfibrous and nanofibrous membranes and compensating for their defects,we developed a composited separator(GOPPH)with excellent overall performance by first wetting-modifying the polyethylene terephthalate microfibers and then laminating a polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene nanofiber layer.Such a combination not only offers the GOPPH separator,from the perspective of structure,with high porosity and hierarchical structure in terms of fiber diameter and pore size,but also provides satisfactory features including wettability,mechanical strength and thermal shutdown function that benefit from the selected materials.Meanwhile,as determined by experimental and theoretical approaches,the obtained GOPPH separator exhibits considerably enhanced lithium ion transport ability with a high lithium ion transference number and transport rate,which thereby endowing the cell with superior cycling stability with a capacity retention of 93%after 200 cycles at 1 C.Therefore,considering battery safety and performance,the GOPPH fibrous membrane could be a promising separator candidate for lithium-ion batteries.

Atomic layer deposition of Al_2O_3 on porous polypropylene hollow fibers for enhanced membrane performances

Porous polypropylene hollow fiber(PPHF) membranes are widely used in liquid purification. However, the hydrophobicity of polypropylene(PP) has limited its applications in water treatment. Herein, we demonstrate that, for the first time, atomic layer deposition(ALD) is an effective strategy to conveniently upgrade the filtration performances of PPHF membranes. The chemical and morphological changes of the deposited PPHF membranes are characterized by spectral, compositional, microscopic characterizations and protein adsorption measurements. Al_2O_3 is distributed along the cross section of the PP hollow fibers, with decreasing concentration from the outer surface to the inner surface. The pore size of the outer surface can be easily turned by altering the ALD cycles. Interestingly, the hollow fibers become much more ductile after deposition as their elongation at break is increased more than six times after deposition with 100 cycles. The deposited membranes show simultaneously enhanced water permeance and retention after deposition with moderate ALD cycle numbers.For instance, after 50 ALD cycles a 17% increase in water permeance and one-fold increase in BSA rejection are observed. Moreover, the PP membranes exhibit improved fouling-resistance after ALD deposition.

Performances of biological aerated filter employing hollow fiber membrane segments of surface-improved poly(sulfone) as biofilm carriers

Using the surface of poly （sulfone） hollow fiber membrane segments as grafted layer, the hydrophilic acrylamide chain was grafted on by UV-photoinduced grafting polymerization. The gained improvement of surface wettability for the modified membrane was tested by measuring the contact-angle as well as FTIR spectra. Then correlation between the hydrophilic ability of support material and the biofilm adherence ability was demonstrated by comparing the pollutant removal rates from urban wastewater via two identical lab-scale up-flow biological aerated filters, one employed the surface wettability modified poly （sulfone） hollow fiber membrane segment as biofilm carder and the other employed unmodified membrane segment as biofilm carder. The experimental results showed that under the conditions of influent flux 5 L/h, hydraulic retention time 9 h and gas to liquid ratio （G/L） 10： 1, the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand （COD） and ammonium nitrogen （NH4^＋-N） for the modified packing filter and the unmodified packing filter was averaged at 83.64% and 96.25%, respectively, with the former filter being 5%-20% more than the latter. The effluent concentration of COD, NH4^＋-N and turbidity for the modified packing filter was 25.25 mg/L, 2 mg/L and 8 NTU, respectively. Moreover, the ammonium nitrogen removal performance of the filter packing the modified PSF was compared with the other bioreactor packing of an efficient floating medium. The biomass test indicated that the modified membrane matrixes provided better specific adhesion （3310-5653 mg TSS/L support）, which gave a mean of 1000 mg TSS/L more than the unmodified membrane did. In addition, the phenomenon of simultaneous denitrification on the inner surface of the support and nitrification on the outer surface was found in this work.

Plasma Modification of Activated Carbon Fibers for Adsorption of SO_2

Viscose-based activated carbon fibers （VACFs） were treated by a dielectric-barrier discharge plasma under the feed gas of N2. The surface functional groups of VACFs were modified to improve the adsorption and catalysis capacity for SO2. The surface properties of the untreated and plasma-treated VACFs were diagnosed by SEM, BET, FTIR, and XPS, and the adsorption capacities of VACFs for SO2 were also compared and discussed. The results show that after the plasma treatment, the external surface of VACFs was etched and became rougher, while the surface area and the total pore volume decreased. FTIR and XPS revealed that nitrogen atoms were introduced onto the VACFs surface and the distribution of functional groups on the VACFs surface was changed remarkably. The adsorption characteristic of SO2 indicates that the plasmatreated VACFs have better adsorption capacity than the original VACFs due to the nitrogen functional groups and new functional groups formed in modification, which is beneficial to the adsorption of SO2.

STUDIES ON SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION AND ECOMATERIAL SHEET DEGRADATION OF BASALT FIBERS BY PLASMA TREATMENTS AND WOOD FIBERS

Plasma surface modification (Argon: Hydrogen =0.6: 0.4) of basalt fibers was investigated and the element contents of basalt and wood fibers were determined by X-ray energy dispersion spectroscope (EDS). Configuration of basalt fibers was described by means of confocal Laser Raman microRaman spectrometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. And the morphology of fiber surface was studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The modified samples were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The results showed that the roughness of basalt fibers was increased with the increase of exposure time of plasma. At the same time the wettability and surface characteristics such as active groups of NH2, OH were improved as well. Basalt fibers were of good chemical stability, better mechanism intension and thermo-stability etc. They mainly consist of 4-, 4-, 2- . Further experiments demostrated that they were degraded into edaphic matrix after use. Therefore, they were environmentally friendly.

Gas-initiation under UV and liquid-grafting polymerization on the surface of polysulfone hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane by dynamic method

Using the inner-surface of polysulfone hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes as grafted layer, the method of gas-initiation and liquid-polymerization has been studied, which aimed to adjust the diameter of the pores in the membranes. The degree of polymerization varied with the changes of the parameters, such as irradiation time, monomer concentration, temperature and time of polymerization and so on. The results indicated that using benzophenone(BP) which is in a gaseous condition as photo-initiator, acrylamide as graft monomer, the polyacrylamide chain was grafted on the surface of membranes. After the surface membrane being modified, the water flux and retention altered,and thus it can be seen that the diameter of the pores in the membrane was altered. These experiments contribute to finding a new way to produce the hollow fiber membrane with the small pore size and are extraordinarily worth developing and studying.

Effects of Fiber Surface Pretreatment and Composite Posttreatment on Mechanical Properties of 2D⁃Cf/Phosphate Geopolymer Matrix Composites

Geopolymers are an important class of materials with potential applications because of their heat resistance,flame resistance,environmental friendliness,and possibilities of being transformed into ceramic matrix composites at low cost.However,the low mechanical properties as well as the intrinsic brittleness limit their technological implementations,and it is necessary to enhance the mechanical properties of geopolymers by adopting various kinds of reinforcements.In this work,therefore,two⁃dimensional continuous carbon fiber(Cf)reinforced phosphate⁃based geopolymer composites(Cf/geopolymer)were prepared through ultrasonic⁃assisted impregnation method.Effects of acetone treatment and high⁃temperature treatment on the properties of Cf/geopolymer composites were studied by X⁃ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),X⁃ray diffraction(XRD),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Results of the study proved that acetone treatment plays a key role in ameliorating the interfacial interaction between Cf and phosphate matrix,which can thus enhance the mechanical properties of Cf/geopolymer composites.The Cf/geopolymer composites prepared by acetone⁃treated Cf had a flexural strength of 156.1 MPa and an elastic modulus of 39.7 GPa in Y direction.Moreover,an additional Sol⁃SiO2 re⁃impregnation treatment could further enhance the mechanical properties of the acetone⁃treated Cf/geopolymer composites by repairing the cracks and filling the pores.The results in this paper not only provide insights into the surface modification of Cf,but also report a facile and low⁃cost preparation route for Cf/geopolymer composites with potential applications in aerospace and defense technology.