• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.235-243
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• 2022

The paper presents the effect of operating temperatures and flow rates on the distillate flux that can be obtained from a hydrophobic membrane having the characteristics: pore size of 0.15 ㎛; thickness of 130 ㎛; and 85% porosity. That membrane in the present investigation could be the direct contact (DCMD) or the air-gap membrane distillation (AGMD). To model numerically the membrane distillation processes, the two-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is used for the DCMD and AGMD cases here. In this work, DCMD and AGMD models have been validated with the experimental data using different flows (Parallel and Counter-current flows) in non-steady-state situations. A good agreement is obtained between the present results and those of the experimental data in the literature. The new approach in the present numerical modeling has allowed examining effects of the nature of materials (Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymers, copolymers, and blends) used on thermal properties. Moreover, the effect of the area surface of the membrane (0.021 to 3.15 ㎡) is investigated to explore both the laminar and the turbulent flow regimes. The obtained results found that copolymer P(VDF-TrFE) (80/20) is more effective than the other materials of membrane distillation (MD). The mass flux and thermal efficiency reach 193.5 (g/㎡s), and 83.29 % using turbulent flow and an effective area of 3.1 ㎡, respectively. The increase of feed inlet temperatures and its flow rate, with the reduction of cold temperatures and its flow rate are very effective for increasing distillate water flow in MD applications.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.396-401
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• 2013

Alternating copolymers, poly[9-(2-octyl-dodecyl)-9H-carbazole-alt-4,7-di-thiophen-2-yl-benzo[1,2,5]thiadiazole] (PCD20TBT) and poly[9,10-bis-(2-octyl-dodecyloxy)-phenanthrene-alt-4,7-di-thiophen-2-yl-benzo[1,2,5]thiadiazole] (PN40TBT), were synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The copolymers were soluble in common organic solvents such as chloroform, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, tetrahydrofuran and toluene. The maximum absorption wavelength and the band gap of PCD20TBT were 535 nm and 1.75 eV, respectively. The maximum absorption wavelength and the band gap of PN40TBT were 560 nm and 1.97 eV, respectively. The HOMO and the LUMO energy level of PCD20TBT were -5.11 eV and -3.36 eV, respectively. As for PN40TBT, the HOMO and the LUMO energy level of PCD20TBT were -5.31 eV and -3.34 eV, respectively. The polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on the blend of copolymer and PCBM (1 : 2 by weight ratio) were fabricated. The power conversion efficiencies of PSCs based on PCD20TBT and PN40TBT were 0.52% and 0.60%, respectively. The short circuit current density ($J_{SC}$), fill factor (FF) and open circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$) of the device with PCD20TBT were $-1.97mA/cm^2$, 38.2% and 0.69 V. For PN40TBT, the $J_{SC}$, FF, and $V_{OC}$ were $-1.77mA/cm^2$, 42.9%, and 0.79 V, respectively.