Hyperbranched polymer hollow-fiber-composite membranes for pervaporation separation of aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures

The separation of aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures is crucial in the petrochemical industry.Pervaporation is regarded as a promising approach for the separation of aromatic compounds from alkanes. Developing membrane materials with efficient separation performance is still the main task since the membrane should provide chemical stability, high permeation flux, and selectivity. In this study, the hyperbranched polymer(HBP) was deposited on the outer surface of a polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane by a facile dip-coating method. The dip-coating rate, HBP concentration, and thermal cross-linking temperature were regulated to optimize the membrane structure.The obtained HBP/PVDF hollow-fiber-composite membrane had a good separation performance for aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures. For the 50%/50%(mass) toluene/n-heptane mixture, the permeation flux of optimized composite membranes could reach 1766 g·m^(-2)·h^(-1), with a separation factor of 4.1 at 60℃. Therefore, the HBP/PVDF hollow-fiber-composite membrane has great application prospects in the pervaporation separation of aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures.

Four-channel catalytic micro-reactor based on alumina hollow fiber membrane for efficient catalytic oxidation of CO

The traditional automotive catalytic converter using commercial ceramic honeycomb carriers has many problems such as high back pressure,low engine efficiency,and high usage of precious metals.This study proposes a four-channel catalytic micro-reactor based on alumina hollow fiber membrane,which uses phase inversion method for structural molding and regulation.Due to the advantages of its carrier,it can achieve lower ignition temperature under low noble metal loading.With Pd/CeO_(2) at a loading rate of 2.3%(mass),the result showed that the reaction ignition temperature is even less than 160℃,which is more than 90℃ lower than the data of commercial ceramic substrates under similar catalyst loading and airspeed conditions.The technology in turn significantly reduces the energy consumption of the reaction.And stability tests were conducted under constant conditions for 1000 h,which proved that this catalytic converter has high catalytic efficiency and stability,providing prospects for the design of innovative catalytic converters in the future.

Fabrication of ZIF-8 membranes on dual-layer ZnO-PES/PES organic hollow fibers by in-situ crystallization

Compared to inorganic supports, polymeric supports can offer additional benefits, e.g., easier processing and cheaper. However, the organic surface has weak adhesion to the zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIFs) membrane layer, which usually requires complex surface modification or seeding. Herein, we demonstrate that a dual-layer asymmetric polymer support prepared by a simple spinning process is a good candidate for the preparation of ZIF-8 membrane. The inner layer of the support is an organic hollow fiber(PES) with finger-like pores, and the outer layer is a ZnO-PES composite layer with finger-like pores also. The ZnO-PES composite layer is expected to contain uniform ZnO crystals in the polymer matrix, i.e., the ZnO particles in the skin layer of the support are not easy to fall off. Under the induction of ZnO particles in the outer layers, continuous ZIF-8 membranes can be prepared by single in-situ crystallization, showing good adhesion to the supports. The obtained ZIF-8 membranes show a H_(2) permeance of 8.7 × 10^(-8)mol·m^(-2)·s^(-1)·Pa^(-1) with a H_(2)/N_(2) ideal separation selectivity of 18.0. The design and preparation of this dual-layer polymer support is expected to promote the large-scale application of MOF membranes on polymer supports.

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.

Effect of polytetrafluoroethylene hollow fiber microstructure on formaldehyde carbonylation performance in membrane contactor

Membrane contactor is regarded as a promising method for reaction and process intensification. The feasibility of formaldehyde carbonylation to synthesize glycolic acid using polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)membrane contactor has been proved in our previous study. In this paper, the effect of membrane microstructure on process performance was further investigated. Three porous PTFE hollow fibers with different pore sizes and one polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)/PTFE composite membrane with dense layer were fabricated for comparison. The physical and chemical properties of four membranes, including chemical composition, morphology, contact angle, liquid entry pressure, thermodynamic analysis and gas permeability, were systemically characterized. Experiments of formaldehyde carbonylation under different reaction conditions were conducted. The results indicated that the yield of glycolic acid increased with decreasing pore size for porous membranes, which was due to the improvement of wetting behavior. The dense layer of PDMS in composite hollow fiber could effectively prevent the solvent from entering membrane pores, thus the membrane exhibited the best performance. At reaction temperature of 120℃ and operation pressure of 3.0 MPa, the yield of glycolic acid was always higher than 90% as the mass ratio of trioxane and phosphotungstic acid increased from 0.2:1 to 0.8:1. The highest turnover frequency was up to 26.37 mol·g^(-1)·h^(-1). This study provided a reference for the understanding and optimization of membrane contactors for the synthesis of glycolic acid using solvent with low surface tension.

The Fabrication and SERS Performance of Multi-layer Hollow Au-Ag Alloy Nano Urchins Structure-based SERS Fiber Probe

Novel hollow Au Ag alloy nano urchins were synthesized via Ag seeds growth method,and self-assembly coated on the wall and end-tip of silica fiber for fiber probe fabrication.The nano urchins homogeneously distributed on fiber surface because of fiber silanization.The sizes and tip sharpness of the nano-urchins could be controlled by Ag seeds.The elements distribution analysis indicated there was high Ag content in tip-top for better surface enhance Raman scattering performance.The detectable concentration could be as low as 10-8 M using crystal violet molecules as analyte.Moreover,the fiber probes were stable in air,due to Au in the alloy.This fiber probe could be used for low content single molecular analysis.

Characterization of polysulfone hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane and its cleaning efficiency by streaming potential and flux method

Polysulfone(PS)hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membrane was characterized combined with flux and streaming potential in single electrolyte solutions.The effects of trans-membrane pressure,electrolyte concentration,ion valence and pH value of electrolyte solution on the streaming potential(SP)of the membrane were investigated.The zeta potential and surface charge density of the membrane were calculated on the basis of Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation and Gouy-Chapmann theory.The results indicate that the valence and concentration of cation have a greater influence on the SP and surface charge density of PS membrane than those of anion,and the pH value of electrolyte solution has great effects on the SP and zeta potential of the membrane surface. Both the absolute value of the streaming potential and water flux of the adsorbed membrane decrease,compared with those of the clean membrane.The streaming potential and flux of the cleaned membrane can be completely recovered by cleaning with the mass fraction of 0.8%EDTA at pH=10.

Preparation and Characterization of Tri-channel Hollow Fiber Nanofiltration Membrane

Improvement strength is beneficial to the popularization of hollow fiber nanofiltration(NF) membrane.The tri-channel hollow fiber NF membrane was prepared by interfacial polymerization(IP).The high strength tri-channel hollow fiber ultrafiltration(UF) membrane were used as the support membrane,m-phenylenedianline(m-PDA),and polyethylenimine(PEI) were used as aqueous phase monomer,and trimesoyl chloride(TMC) was used as organic phase monomer.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and gas sorption analyzer(GSA) were applied in structural analysis of NF membrane.Polymer FTIR illustrates the IP occurrence between aqueous phase monomer and organic phase monomer.The SEM images of NF membrane show the formation of a thin dense layer on surface of support membrane after IP.The flux(J) of optimal NF membrane is 11.2 L·m-2· h-1 at the 0.35 MPa operating pressure.Its retention(R) for NaCl,Na2SO4,MgCl2,Xylenol orange,and Neutral red is 17.4%,30.2%,16.1%,94.3%,and 51.0%,respectively.The NF membrane is on negative charge and its pore radius distributes between 0.3-2.0 nm.

Electrolyte transfer separation of hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane

Using Donnan Steric Partitioning Model(DSPM),the data for the rejection of four salts having common co-ion(LiCl, NaCl,KCl,Na2SO4)were obtained and they show the characters of the polyethersulfone(PES)nanofiltration(NF)membrane in terms of three parameters:an effective pore radius(rp),the ratio of effective thickness over porosity(λ/Ak)and an effective charge density(X).Good agreement between experimental data and prediction data using the three parameters mentioned above was obtained.A theoretical model was developed to predict the transport performance of electrolyte through the hollow fiber composite NF membrane.The model prediction is in good agreement with experimental results based on the method by modern numerical solution.

Covalent Immobilization of Lipase on Poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) Ultrafiltration Hollow Fiber Membrane

Lipase from Candida rugosa was covalently immobilized on the surface of an uhrafihration hollow fiber membrane fabricated from poly （ acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid） （ PANCMA ） in which the carboxyl groups were activated with 1-ethyl-3-（ dimethylaminopropyl ） carbodiimide hydrochloride （ EDC ） and dicyclohexyl carbodiimide （ DCC ）/ N-hydroxyl succinimide（NHS）, respectively. The properties of the immobilized lipase were assayed and compared with those of the free enzyme. The maximum activities were observed in a relatively broader pH value range at high temperatures for the immobilized lipase compared to the free one. It was also found that the thermal and pH stabilities of lipase were improved upon immobilization and at 50 ℃ the thermal inactivation rate constant values are 2. 1 × 10^ -2 for the free lipase, 3.2 × 10^-3 for the immobilized lipase on the EDC-activated PANCMA membrane and 3.5 × 10^-3 for the immobilized lipase on the DCC/NHS-activated PANCMA membrane, respectively.

Operation Characteristics of Treating Surface Water with Polyvinylchloride Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membrane

A pilot plant study on a polyvinylchloride hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane process was conducted for treating surface water. The membrane system was operated in the dead-end filtration mode under different constant permeate fluxes. The results show that the optimized operation (transmembrane pressure≤0.1 MPa, filtration time≤30 min) with a hydraulic cleaning (30 s) and a chemical cleaning (30 min, the chemical cleaning was performed after 16 cycles of filtration ) ensures a quite steady flux (1 100 L/(m^2·h·MPa)) and good permeate quality (turbidity<0.1 NTU). A full-scale plant can be suggested to operate with a mixed strategy of constant permeate flux mode (transmembrane pressure≤0.1 MPa) and constant transmembrane pressure mode. When the temperature of raw water becomes below 5 ℃, a constant transmembrane pressure mode should be used; otherwise a constant permeate flux mode (transmembrane pressure≤0.1 MPa) can be operated. In this way, irreversible fouling of ultrafiltration membrane can be minimized to keep a stable flux and make the life of membrane longer.

Extraction of Ce^(4+) from Tervalent Lanthanide with Immobilized Interface in a Microporous Hollow Fiber

中空纤维膜（ＭＨＦ）法研究了Ｃｅ４＋和三价稀土的溶剂萃取．结果表明Ｃｅ４＋的传质系数是Ｃｅ３＋和Ｌａ３＋的１０倍以上．Ｃｅ４＋的传质速度受水相临界层中扩散速度控制，ＲＥ３＋的传质速度受膜内扩散控制．Ｃｅ４＋能够从三价稀土中有效地分离．

APPLICATION AND INFLUENCE OF HOLLOW OPTICAL FIBER EMBEDDED IN FIBER GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITE MATERIALS

The method for self diagnose and self repair of composite materials using hollow optical fiber with injected adhesive is first put forward. The investigation and analysis of pass light mechanism of hollow optical fiber are made in detail. The measurement principle, method and experimental research on self diagnose of the rupture place in composite materials by using hollow optical fiber are also put forward. Experiments on composite materials with or without embedded optical fiber are performed according to Chinese test standards in order to find out the comparable characters. Based on the experimental results, it is found that there is only little difference on the mechanical behavior of composite materials with or without embedded hollow optical fibers. In other words, this method can be used in engineering practice, such as in smart structures and other fields. Finally the general scheme of the entire system is given.

Research of Oxidation Resistance of PVDF Hollow Fiber Membrane Used in Water Treatment

[Objective] The aim was to research the influences of different formulations on oxidation resistance of PVDF hollow fiber membrane.[Method]The immersion precipitation phase inversion method was employed to make casting solution with different formulations into hollow fiber membrane.The membrane was immersed in 1% NaClO solution for testing its performance changes.[Result]The membrane made by materials with bigger molecular weight had better oxidation resistance performance;the surfactant tween-80 could increase water flux,but lead to lower rupture intension;Pore-forming agent PEG400 do better than PVP in the oxidation resistance of membrane.[Conclusion]This study will provide a good idea for the development of the PVDF membrane with high oxidation resistance.

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.

Removal of Aniline from Wastewater Using Hollow Fiber Renewal Liquid Membrane

Hollow fiber renewal liquid membrane(HFRLM) method was proposed based on the surface renewal theory for removal of aniline from waste water. The system of aniline + D2 EHPA in kerosene + HCl was used. Aqueous layer diffusion in the feed phase is the rate-control step, and the influence of lumen side flow rate on the mass transfer is more significant than that on the shell side. The resistance of overall mass transfer is greatly reduced because of the mass transfer intensification in the renewal of liquid membrane on the lumen side. The driving force of mass transfer can be considered as a function of distribution equilibrium, and the overall mass transfer coefficient increases with the increase of p H in the feed solution, HCl concentration and D2 EHPA concentration, and decreases with the increase of initial aniline concentration. A mass transfer model is developed for HFRLM based on the surface renewal theory. The calculated results agree well with experimental results. The HFRLM process is a promising method for aniline wastewater treatment.

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE POLYURETHANE HOLLOW FIBER MEMBRANES

Composite polyurethane(PU)-SiO_2 hollow fiber membranes were successfully prepared via optimizing thetechnique of dry-jet wet spinning,and their pressure-responsibilities were confirmed by the relationships of pure water flux-transmembrane pressure(PWF-TP)for the first time.The origin for this phenomenon was analyzed on the basis of membranestructure and material characteristics.The effects of SiO_2 content on the structure and properties of membrane wereinvestigated.The experimental results indicated that SiO_2 in membrane created a great many interfacial micro-voids andplayed an important role in pressure-responsibility,PWF and rejection of membrane:with the increase of SiO_2 content,theability of membrane recovery weakened,PWF increased,and rejection decreased slightly.

Effect of Diluent on the Morphology and Performance of IPP Hollow Fiber Microporous Membrane via Thermally Induced Phase Separation

Isotactic polypropylene （iPP） hollow fiber microporous membranes were prepared using thermally induced phase separation （TIPS） method. Di-n-butyl phthalate （DBP）, dioctyl phthalate （DOP）, and the mixed solvent were used as diluents. The effect of α （DOP mass fraction in diluent） on the morphology and performance of the hollow fiber was investigated. With increasing α, the morphology of the resulting hollow fiber changes from typical cellular structure to mixed structure, and then to typical particulate structure. As a result, the permeability of the hollow fiber increases sharply, and the mechanical properties of the hollow fiber decrease obviously. It is suggested that the morphology and performances of iPP hollow fiber microporous membrane can be controlled via adjusting the compatibility between iPP and diluent.

CFD Simulation of the Filtration Performance of Fibrous Filter Considering Fiber Electric Potential Field

Aiming at disclosing the quantitative e ects of Coulomb forces on the ltration e ciency of aerosol particles, a three- dimensional random ber model was established to describe the microstructure of brous lters. Then, computational mod- els including the ow model, particle model, and electric eld model were constructed to estimate the ltration e ciency using the Fluent custom user-de ned function program, neglecting the non-uniformity of the ber potential and the particle charge distribution. The simulation results using the established models agreed with the data in the literature. In particular, the electric eld force was found to be one of the important factors required to improve the ltration e ciency estimation accuracy for the ultra ne particles. Moreover, the variation tendencies of the ltration e ciency and the pressure drop of brous lters were studied based on the in uence factors of the ber potential, particle charge-to-mass ratio, solid volume fraction, ber diameter, and face velocity. The established models and estimated results will provide important guidance on the design of high-e ciency particulate air lters for aerosol particles.

Evaluation of diffusion in gel entrapment cell culture within hollow fibers

AIM: To investigate diffusion in mammalian cell culture by gel entrapment within hollow fibers. METHODS: Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes or human oral epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells were entrapped in type I collagen solutions and statically cultured inside microporous and ultrafiltration hollow fibers. During the culture time collagen gel contraction, cell viability and specific function were assessed. Effective diffusion coefficients of glucose in cell-matrix gels were determined by lag time analysis in a diffusion cell. RESULTS: Significant gel contractions occurred in the collagen gels by entrapment of either viable hepatocytes or KB cells. And the gel contraction caused a significant reduction on effective diffusion coefficient of glucose. The cell viability assay of both hepatocytes and KB cells statically cultured in hollow fibers by collagen entrapment further confirmed the existence of the inhibited mass transfer by diffusion. Urea was secreted about 50% more by hepatocytes entrapped in hollow fibers with pore size of 0.1 μm than that in hollow fibers with MWCO of 100 ku. CONCLUSION: Cell-matrix gel and membrane pore size are the two factors relevant to the limited mass transfer by diffusion in such gel entrapment of mammalian cell culture.