• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2020

In this study, the performance and antifouling properties of polysulfone (PSf) and polyvinylidene fluoride/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVDF/PVP) membranes in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) were investigated. The membranes were prepared via phase inversion method, and then characterized by a set of analyses including contact angle, porosity and water flux and applied in a lab-scale MBR system. Soluble microbial product (SMP), extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), FTIR, gel permission chromatography (GPC) and particle size distribution (PSD) analyses were also carried out for MBR system. The results showed that the MBR with PSf membrane had higher hydrophobic organic compounds which resulted in formation of larger flocs in MBR. However, in this MBR had high compressibility coefficient of cake layer was higher (n=0.91) compared to MBR with PVDF/PVP membrane (n=0.8); hence, the fouling was more profound. GPC analysis revealed that compounds with molecular weight lower than 2 kDa are more formed on PSf membrane more than PVDF/PVP membrane. The results of FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of polysaccharide and protein compounds on the cake layer of both membranes which was in good agreement with EPS analysis. In addition, the results showed that their concentration was higher for the cake on PSf membrane.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2007

Amphiphilic graft copolymer from poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for composite nanofiltration membranes. Direct initiation of the secondary fluorinated site of PVDF facilitates grafting of tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA). Amphiphilic PVDF-g-PMAA graft copolymer with a 51:49 wt ratio was obtained by hydrolyzing poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA) to poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA). Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed the decrease of crystallinity of PVDF upon graft copolymerization. Composite nanofiltration membranes were prepared from PVDF-g-PMAA as a top layer coated onto PVDF ultrafiltration (UF) support membrane. The morphology and hydrophilicity of membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle measurement. The rejections of composite membranes were 80.2% for $Na_2SO_4$ and 28.4% for NaCl, and the solution flux were 9.5 and $14.5\;L/m^2\;h$ at 1.0 MPa pressure.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2020

Polymer/inorganic composites were used as a protective layer of lihitum metal electrode for effective suppression of lithium dendrite. PVDF-HFP was used as an polymer material and TiO₂ nanoparticle was used as an inorganic material. PVDF-HFP is a highly flexible polymer that acts as a matrix of inorganic materials while TiO₂ nanoparticle improves the mechanical strength and ion conductivity of the protective layer. The as-synthesized protective hybrid membrane exhibited good dispersion of TiO₂ in the PVDF-HFP matrix by SEM, AFM and XRD analyses. Furthermore, the electrochemical analysis showed that the polymer-inorganic composite retained high coulombic efficiency of 80% and low overpotential, less than 20 mV until the 100^th cycles due to the improved mechanical properties and ion conductivity in comparison to the control sample (untreated and PVDF-HFP polymers/Cu).

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.84-86
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• 2000

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

The principal objective of this study is to investigate the effect of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) crosslinking in Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) in immobilization of Fe and bimetallic Fe/Cu and Cu/Fe zero valent particles on the membrane and its efficiency on removal of nitrate in wastewater. PVDF/PEG polymer solution of three weight compositions was prepared to manipulate the viscosity of the polymer. PEG crosslinking was indirectly controlled by the viscosity of the polymer solution. In this study, PEG was used as a modifier of PVDF membrane as well as a cross-linker for the immobilization of the zero valent particles. The result demonstrates improvement in immobilization of metallic particles with the increase in crosslinking of PEG. Nitrate removal efficiency increases too.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.417-431
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• 2016

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) powder was treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide to obtain partially defluorinated fluoropolymers with expected properties such as improving hydrophilicity and fouling resistance. Raman spectrum and FT-IR results confirmed the existence of conjugated carbon double bonds after alkaline treatment. As the concentration increased, the degree of defluorination increased. The morphology and structure of membranes were examined. The permeation performance was investigated. The results showed that membrane's hydrophilicity increased with increase of the percentage of alkaline treated PVDF powder. Moreover, in terms of the water contact angle, it decreased from $92^{\circ}$ to a minimum of $68^{\circ}$; while water up take increased from 128 to 138%. Fluxof pure water and the cleaning efficiency increased with the increase of alkaline treated PVDF powder. The fouling potential also decreased with the increase of the percentage of alkaline treated PVDF powder. The reason that makes blending PVDF show different characteristics because of partial defluorination, which led the formation of conjugated C = C bonds and the inclusion of oxygen functionalities. The polyene structure followed by hydroxide attack to yield hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. Therefore, the hydrophilicity of blending membrane was improved. The SEM and porosity measurements showed that no obvious variations of the pore dimensions and structures for blend membranes were observed. Mechanical tests suggest that the high content of the alkaline treated PVDF result in membranes with less tolerance of tensile stress and higher brittleness. TGA results exhibited that the blend of alkaline treated PVDF did not change membrane thermal stability.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.251-257
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• 2019

Fabricating hydrophobic porous membrane is important for exploring the applications of membrane distillation (MD). In the present paper, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane was modified by coating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on its surface. The effects of PDMS concentration, cross-linking temperature and cross-linking time on the performance of the composite membranes in a vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) process were investigated. It was found that the hydrophobicity and the VMD performance of the PVDF hollow fiber membrane were obviously improved by coating PDMS. The optimal PDMS concentration, cross-linking temperature and cross-linking time were 0.5 wt%, $80^{\circ}C$, and 9 hr, respectively.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.361-367
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• 2018

In this study, the nanofiltration (NF) composite membranes for the low pressure use were prepared using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane as a supporter. Poly styrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) were coated onto the PVDF membrane by both layer-by-layer and salting-out methods. To characterize the prepared NF membranes in terms of the flux and salt rejection, 100 mg/L feed solutions of NaCl, $MgCl_2$, and $CaSO_4$ were used at the flow rate of 1 L/min and the operating pressure of 2 bar at room temperature. The NF membranes coated with 20,000 ppm PSSA (ionic strength 1.0) solution for 3 minutes and then 30,000 ppm (ionic strength 0.1) solution for 1 minute were observed the best performance. The permeability and salt rejection were 38.5 LMH, 57.1% for NaCl, 37.9 LMH and 90.2% for $MgCl_2$ and 32.4 LMH and 54.6% for $CaSO_4$, respectively.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2017

This study investigated effects of NaOH cleaning on the intrinsic permeability of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and flux recoveries and membrane resistances under various conditions encountered during ultrafiltration in water treatment plants. The NaOH cleaning using 10,000 mg/L NaOH led to discoloration of PVDF membranes and had little effect on water flux. The NaOH cleaning was efficient in removing the fouling layer caused by humic water. However, long filtration induced a fouling layer that was not removed easily by NaOH cleaning. The lower temperature during filtration yielded rapid increases in transmembrane pressure and decreases in NaOH cleaning efficiency. The alkaline cleaning of PVDF changed the membrane properties such as the hydrophobicity and morphology. Foulant properties, operational conditions such as temperature, and chemical agents should be considered for cleaning strategies for PVDF applied in water treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.339-346
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• 2017

In this study, thermal performance test of VMD module was performed, prior to the construction of the demonstration plant using the vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) module of the capacity of $400m^3/day$ and to the commercialization of the VMD module. For the thermal performance test, the experimental equipment of capacity of $2m^3/day$ was constructed. The permeate flux test and thermal performance test according to feed water conditions such as temperature and flow rate were conducted. The VMD module used in the study was manufactured by ECONITY Co., LTD with PVDF hollow fiber membrane. As a result, the Performance Ratio (PR) of the VMD module showed the maximum value of 0.904 under the condition of feed water temperature of $75^{\circ}C$ and flow rate of $8m^3/h$. PR value of the VMD module using PVDF hollow fiber membrane showed linearly increasing relationship with feed water temperature and flow rate. Also, The permeate flux of the VMD module was analyzed to have maximum value of 18.25 LMH and the salt rejection was 99.99%.