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.

Liquid Metal-Based Self-Healable and Elastic Conductive Fiber in Complex Operating Conditions

Flexible conductive fibers are essential for wearable electronics and smart electronic textiles.However,in complex operating conditions,conductive fibers will inevitably fracture or damage.Herein,we have developed an elastic conductive self-healable fiber(C-SHF),of which the electrical and mechanical properties can efficiently heal in a wide operating range,including room temperature,underwater,and low temperature.This advantage can be owed to the combination of reversible covalent imine bond and disulfide bond,as well as the instantaneous self-healing ability of liquid metal.The C-SHF,with stretchability,conductivity stability,and universal self-healing properties,can be used as an electrical signal transmission line at high strain and under different operating conditions.Besides,C-SHF was assembled into a double-layer capacitor structure to construct a self-healable sensor,which can effectively respond to pressure as a wearable motion detector.

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.

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.

Stretchable and self-healing conductive fibers from hierarchical silver nanowires-assembled network

Conductive fibers(CFs)with features of high conductivity,stretchability,self-healability,and electromechanical stability are key components of the increasingly popular wearable electronics.However,since the lack of structural design of conductive network and interfacial interaction between soft polymer and conductive additives,it is still hard to enable CFs to meet above requirements.Here,we describe a facial drawing method from a hydrogel reservoir which is remolded into ultrathin and stretchable CFs with excellent multi-responsive self-healability.The hydrogel reservoir was fabricated in synergy of an ice-templating method and in situ polymerization using the assembled framework as a crosslinker.Relying on the effective fabrication mechanism,the diameter of CFs could be well-tuned from 90 to 400μm by adjusting the dipping depth of the glass rod,accompanied with conductivity increased from 0.75 to 2.5 S/m.Since the hierarchical network structure was well maintained in the CFs,professional performances have been proved on the stretchability and electromechanical stability.The presence of massive hydrogen bonding and Ag–S bond enabled the CFs with excellent self-healability under the conditions of contact,electric field,and near infrared light,respectively.Excitingly,the CFs with high sensing property could be integrated into an advanced textile sensor through an effective healing-induced integration strategy,demonstrating its great potentials as superior two-dimensional(2D)electronic skins.

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.

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.

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.

Two-dimensional MXene hollow fiber membrane for divalent ions exclusion from water

Two-dimensional material membranes with fast transport channels and versatile chemical functionality are promising for molecular separation.Herein,for the first time,we reported design and engineering of two-dimensional Ti_(3)C_(2)Tx MXene(called transition metal carbides and nitrides)membranes supported on asymmetric polymeric hollow fiber substrate for water desalination.The membrane morphology,physicochemical properties and ions exclusion performance were systematically investigated.The results demonstrated that surface hydrophilicity and electrostatic repulsion and size sieving effect of interlayer channels synergistically endowed the MXene hollow fiber membrane with fast water permeation and efficient rejection of divalent ions during nanofiltration process.

Transport Study of Cu （Ⅱ） Through Hollow Fiber Supported Liquid Membrane

The transport of Cu(II)from aqueous solutions containing buffer media through hollow fiber supported liquid membrane(HFSLM)using di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid(D2EHPA)dissolved in kerosene as membrane phase and hydrochloric acid as striping phase was investigated.A set of factors were studied,including tube side velocity,shell side velocity,pH of the feed phase,Cu(II)concentration in the feed phase,buffer media concentration and D2EHPA concentration in the membrane phase.Experimental results indicate that the mass transfer coefficient increases with increasing both carrier concentration in the organic phase and flow rates on the tube side and shell side,and decreases with increasing initial Cu(II)concentration in the feed phase.With increasing pH value and acetate concentration in the feed phase,the mass transfer coefficient reaches a maximum value then decreases.The optimal operating conditions are obtained at pH value of 4.44 and 0.1 mol·L -1 acetic ion concentration in feed phase,and carrier volume fraction of around 10%in kerosene as organic phase.A mathematical model of the transport mechanism through HFSLM is developed.The modeled results agree well with the experimental ones.

Structure and Properties of Polyurethane/Polyvinylidene Difluoride Blending Hollow Fiber

Utilization of polyvinylidene difluoride, PVDF, as the disperse phase and thermal plastic polyurethane, PU, as the continuous phase, the PU/PVDF blend hollow fiber membranes with the property of pressure-responsibility, PR, was prepared by melt.spinning. For these hollow fibers, the formation of the interracial micro-voids, IFM, and the spinablllty of the blend were analyzed. The pressm-e-responslblllty was studied by measuring the changing of pure water flux, PWF, with the pressure, and the influence of drawing and heat-setting on the structure and pressure-responsibility of the membranes were also discussed.

Modeling investigation of geometric size effect on pervaporation dehydration through scaled-up hollow fiber NaA zeolite membranes

A mass transfer model in consideration of multi-layer resistances through NaA zeolite membrane and lumen pressure drop in the permeate side was developed to describe pervaporation dehydration through scaled-up hollow fiber supported NaA zeolite membrane. It was found that the transfer resistance in the lumen of the permeate side is strongly related with geometric size of hollow fiber zeolite membrane, which could not he neglected. The effect of geometric size on pervaporation dehydration could be more significant under higher vacuum pressure in the permeate side. The transfer resistance in the lumen increases with the hollow fiber length but decreases with lumen diameter. The geometric structure could be optimized in terms of the ratio of lumen diameter to membrane length. A critical value of d1/L （Rc） to achieve high permeation flux was empirically correlated with extraction pressure in the permeate side. Typically, for a hollow fiber supported NaA zeolite membrane with length of 0.40 m, the lumen diameter should be larger than 2.0 mm under the extraction pressure of 1500 Pa.