• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2010

Various asymmetric Polysulfone membranes were prepared for a MBR process. Ether-typed alcohols (co-solvent) were added into a dope solution in order to control the pore size of membrane, whose effect on water permeability were investigated. Pore size of the prepared membranes were more affected by molecular-structure of co-solvent than by boiling point of theirs. With the increasing order of methoxy ($CH_3$-O-) < secondary propanol ($-CH_2$-CH(OH)$-CH_3$) < ethoxy ($CH_3-CH_2$-O-), water permeability of the prepared membrane increased. The phenomenon might attribute to the difference of molecularly steric hinderance of co-solvent (eg, Methoxy propanol, Ethoxy ethanol, Methoxy ethanol) in dope solution during the phase inversion. By the addition of ether typed alcohol into a dope solution, the pore size of MF (microfiltration) could be controlled. Also, Membrane prepared was applied to a MBR process and the system was stably operated for 2 months.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.372-378
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• 2010

Membrane disruption by an antimicrobial peptide, protegrin-1 (PG-1), was investigated by measuring the $^2H$ solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectra of 1-palmitoyl-$d_{31}$-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC_$d_{31}$) in the mixture of PG-1 and POPC_$d_{31}$ lipids deposited on thin cover-glass plates. The experimental line shapes of anisotropic $^2H$ SSNMR spectra measured at various peptide-to-lipid (P/L) ratios were simulated reasonably by assuming the mosaic spread of bilayers containing pore structures or the coexistence of the mosaic spread of bilayers and a fast-tumbling isotropic phase. Within a few days of incubation in the hydration chamber, the pores were formed by the peptide in the POPC_$d_{31}$ and POPC_$d_{31}$/cholesterol membranes. However, the formation of the pores was not clear in the POPC_$d_{31}$/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG) membrane. Over a hundred days after hydration, a rapidly rotating isotropic phase increased in the POPC_$d_{31}$ and the POPC_$d_{31}$/cholesterol membranes with the higher P/L ratios, but no isotropic phase appeared in the POPC_$d_{31}$/POPG membrane. Cholesterol added in the POPC bilayer acted as a stabilizer of the pore structure and suppressed the formation of a fast-tumbling isotropic phase.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.52-61
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• 2005

Permeate flux decline in a microfiltration was analyzed by measuring the permeability of bentonite colloidal solution through polyethylene capillary membranes. The flux decline with time was due to the growth of cake layer on the membrane surface and to the pore blocking by particles. As the time approaches to steady state, the permeate flux is almost controlled by the cake filtration model. Faster flux decline at high trans-membrane pressure was attributed to the formation of denser packed cake layer and pore blocking. The ratio of permeate flux to the initial permeate flux, J/J₁, decreased with increasing the trans-membrane pressure, from 45% for 0.5 kg/sub f//㎠ to 38% for 2.0 kg/sub f//㎠. In comparing the ratio of each fouling component to the total fouling for the 0.5 kg/sub f//㎠ TMP condition, complete blocking was 23.4%, standard blocking was about 14.6% and cake filtration was 62.0%, respectively. Permeate flux through the membrane increases with cross flow velocity, and the effect of the variation of velocity is more significant at 1.0 kg/sub f//㎠ rather than at 2.0 kg/sub f//㎠ of the operation pressure. Permeate flux for the membrane having the average pore diameter of 0.34 ㎛ was higher than that for the membrane of 0.24 ㎛ pore size, with the higher flux with the low concentration of feed. On the operation using the membrane of 0.34 ㎛ pore, the pore blocking in the low concentration of 200 ppm is negligible relative to the pore blocking in the 1000 ppm feed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.293-298
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• 2001

Tryptic activation of the 130-kDa Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B $\delta$-endotoxin produced protease-resistant products of ca. 47 kDa and ca. 21 kDa. The 21-kDa fragment was identified as the N-terminal five-helix bundle (${\alpha}1-{\alpha}5$,) which is a potential candidate for membrane insertion and pore formation. In this study, we constructed the recombinant clone over-expressing this putative pore-forming (PPF) fragment as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The partially purified inclusions were composed of a 23-kDa protein, which cross-reacted with Cry4B antibodies, and whose N-terminus was identical to that of the 130-kDa protein. Dissimilar to protoxin inclusions, the PPF inclusions were only soluble when the carbonate buffer, pH 9.0, was supplemented with 6 M urea. After renaturation via a stepwise dialysis, the refolded PPF protein appeared to exist as an oligomer and was structurally stable upon trypsin treatment. Unlike the 130kDa protoxin, the refolded protein was able to release entrapped glucose from liposomes, and showed comparable activity to the full-length activated toxin, although it lacks larvicidal activity These results, therefore, support the notion that the PPF fragment that consists of ${\alpha}1-{\alpha}5$ of the activated Cry4B toxin is involved in membrane pore-formation.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.1-4
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• 1995

The microstructure of polymer membranes produced via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) of polymer solutions is a strong function of both the early-stage (by spinodal decomposition or nucleation & growth) and the late-stage phase separation (referred to in general as coarsening). In the case of early stage effects, the membrane morphology resulting from a nucleation & growth mechanism is either a poorly interconnecsed, stringy, beady structure which is mechanically fragile or a well interconnected structure with highly nonuniform pore sizes. In contrast, spinodal decomposition results in a well interconnected, mechanically strong membrane with highly uniform pore sizes. Here I describe recent quantitative studies of the coarsening effects on the microstructure of membranes produced via TIPS process. The dependence of microstructure on coarsening time, quench depth, solution viscosity, and polymer molecular weight was investigated in order to distinguish among three possible coarsening mechanisms, Ostwald ripening, coalescence, and hydrodynamic flow, which may be responsible for structural evolution after the early-stage phase Separation (spinodal decomposition or nucleation & growth).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.342-349
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• 2000

Hollow fiber membranes were prepared via thermally-induced phase separation process followed by stretching process from isotactic polypropylene and soybean oil system. Various operating parameters were examined in terms of their effects on the structure variation and performances of the membrane, and were optimized. Melt viscosity of the melt sample had influence on the formation of the microfibrils, and addition of nucleating agent increased the nucleation density to enhance the interspherulitic pore formation by stretching. Annealing the membrane at its stretched state relaxed the stress induced by stretching and helped the membrane maintain the stretched structure without shrinking. Solid-liquid Phase separation is more prevalent when the nucleating agent was added, and coagulation bath temperature determined the nucleation density, which affected the pore formation by stretching. In the absence of nucleating agent, nucleation was not effective and liquid-liquid phase separation governed the structure formation, which showed the opposite trend to that of the case with nucleating agent.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2019

Recently, as the problem of environmental pollution emerges, various methods of eco-friendly water treatment method are being developed. Polymer membranes, which are currently leading the market, are inexpensive, but have many problems in terms of chemical resistance and durability. Thus, ceramic membrane has been attracted great attention as high-efficiency water treatment due to excellent durability and chemical resistant. In this study, ceramic membranes were developed via pore structure, size control, and surface treatment. The pore size of the membrane was controlled through the formation of $ZrO_2$ and $TiO_2$ coating films. Tape casting and sol-gel process were used to form a ceramic coating film with nanopores on the surface of the membrane. Microstructure analysis of ceramic membrane and pore size analysis of the coating film were conducted and the change of water treatment characteristics was observed.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.67-79
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• 2021

Mesoporous polystyrene (PS) and polyethersulfone (PES) membranes have been fabricated by reverse-thermally induced phase separation (RTIPS) process, using flash freezing. The mesoporous pores can be created by the nano-scaled phase separation induced by the formation and growth of solvent crystals in the dope solution in RTIPS process. RTIPS process has been characterized through analysis on the enthalpy change in the solvent of the dope solution, the morphology of the membrane fabricated with different polymer content, and the pore size distribution and its standard deviation of pore size of the membrane with polymer content via DSC, SEM, and BET, respectively. It is found that the kinetic aspect of the dope solution, i.e., the crystallization of solvent is a crucial factor to determine the structure of membrane fabricated in RTIPS rather than the thermodynamic aspect of the dope solution.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2021

In this study, we developed an evaporation-driven self-assembly coating method for an ceramic intermediate layer on an ultrapermeable ��-Al2O3 support with large pore size of ~1.5 ㎛. The method led to the formation of a ceramic intermediate layer with higher surface homogeneity and less surface roughness than the conventional dip-coating method. A mesoporous ��-Al2O3 layer was deposited on the support to evaluate support quality. A supported ��-Al2O3 membrane was defect-free even without repeated coating. Furthermore, the membrane showed 2.3 times higher nitrogen permeance than one prepared on a macroporous support with pore size range of 100~200 nm, which is widely used for ceramic membrane coating.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.311-319
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• 2017

Scale formation is inevitable problem when seawater is treated by vacuum membrane distillation. The reason is the high concentration of calcium ion($Ca^{2+}$), sulfate ion(${SO_4}^{2-}$) and bicarbonate ion(${HCO_3}^-$). These ions form calcium sulfate($CaSO_4$) and calcium carbonate($CaCO_3$) on the membrane. The scale formed on membrane has to be removed, because the flux can be severely reduced and membrane wetting can be incurred. This study was carried out to investigate scale formation and effectiveness of acid cleaning in vacuum membrane distillation for SWRO brine treatment. It was found that permeate flux gradually declined until volume concentration factor(VCF) reached around 1.55 and membrane wetting started over VCF over 1.6 in the formation of precipitates containing $CaSO_4$ during VMD operation. In contrast, when calcium carbonate formed on membrane, permeate flux was gradually reduced until VCF 3.0. The precipitates containing both $CaSO_4$ and $CaCO_3$ were formed on the membrane surface and in the membrane pore.