• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.456-470
• /
• 2013

Hollow-fiber membranes, is one of the new technologies that is growing rapidly in the past few decades. In addition, separation membranes using polymer materials, have attracted attentions in various fields including gas separation, fuel cells, water treatment, wastewater treatment, and organic separation. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes having the separation characteristics in the intermediate range between ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for liquid separation, with relatively low investment cost and operating pressure lower than that of RO membranes, have high permeance and rejection performance of multivalent ions as well as organic compounds of molecular weight between $200{\sim}1000gmol^{-1}$. In this paper, we would like to review the research trends on the various structure control and characterization of NF hollow fiber membranes with respect to materials and the methods of preparation (phase inversion method and interfacial polymerization method). Currently, most of NF membranes have been manufactured by plate and frame types or spiral wound types. But hollow fiber types have delayed in commercial products, because of the weak strength when to produce on the basis of the existing materials, therefore the development of new materials or improvement of existing materials will be needed. If improving manufacturing technology is available, hollow fiber types will replace spiral wound types and gradually show a higher market share.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.198-205
• /
• 2008

A novel technology for homogeneous deposition of zeolite particles on a porous support was developed so that those particles played a seeding role for the growth of zeolite crystals. After the particles were dispersed in water, the aqueous solution was 134 through the bore of a porous tubular support. By keeping the other side of the support in a vacuum, the aqueous solution passed through the pores of the support, leading the particles to be homogeneously deposited on the support. The amount of the deposited particles was investigated by changing the following operating parameters: a particle concentration in the solution, a time for deposition, and the feeding rate of the solution. The amount of the deposited particles increased from 0.0019 g to 0.0208 g as the concentration of the particles was changed from 0.01 wt% to 0.3 wt%, while the feeding rate and the deposition time were kept to 100 mL/min and 4 min, respectively. As the deposition time was varied from 1 min to 4 min, the deposition amount increased from 0.0004g to 0.0019g at the typical condition of the rest parameters. Also, it was observed that the deposited weight increased from 0.0029 g to 0.01 g as the feeding rate increased from 100 mL/min to 300 mL/min. However, the total permeance of water and ethanol decreased through the zeolite membrane as the deposited weight increased.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.332-342
• /
• 2013

In the present study, carbon molecular sieve (CMS) hollow fiber membranes were prepared by carbonizing a methyl imide hollow fiber precursor, which was spun by non-solvent induced phase separation process. And effects of carbonization parameters such as pre-oxidation, pyrolysis, and post-oxidation on the gas permeation were systematically investigated. CMS membrane having the highest gas flux was obtained by carbonizing the precursor through a combined process of air pre-oxidation at $250^{\circ}C$ for 2h, nitrogen pyrolysis at $550^{\circ}C$ for 2h, and oxygen post-oxidation at $250^{\circ}C$ for 2h. The optimized membrane showed a considerable gas permeance : the $H_2$, He, $CO_2$ permeances were 69.72, 35.61, 31.01 GPU, respectively, and the $O_2$ and $N_2$ permeances were ignorable. Therefore, it was clear that the prepared CMS hollow fiber membrane was a promising membrane for recovering small gases such as hydrogen and hellium and carbon dioxide.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.404-414
• /
• 2012

In order to investigate $SO_2$ removal, PEI hollow fiber membranes were produced by a dry-wet phase inversion method. The membrane support layer on surface was coated with PEBAX1657$^{(R)}$ and PEG blending materials. Modules were prepared for the single gas permeation characteristics of composite membrane according to temperature and pressure. As a result, $SO_2$ permeance and $SO_2/N_2$ selectivity were 220~1220 GPU and 100~506 through operating condition, respectively. Moreover, $SO_2/CO_2/N_2$ mixture gas was used to compare the performance of separation properties according to temperature, pressure and retentate flow rate difference. $SO_2$ removal efficiency was increased with pressure and temperature.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.173-181
• /
• 1996

Common volatile organic compounds(VOCs) such as toluene and methanol were removed successfully from N$_{2}$ using a novel silicone-coated hollow fiber membrane module. This novel membrane is a thin film composite(TFC) and was highly efficient in removing VOCs selectively from a N$_{2}$ stream. This membrane had some innate advantages over other silicone-based membrane in that the selective barrier was ultrathin(~1 $\mu$m) and the porosity of the polypropylene substrate was high which leads to a low permeation resistance. The substram was very strongly bonded to the coating layer by plasma polymerization and can withstand a very high pressure. A small hollow fiber module having a length of 25cm and 50 fibers could remove 96~99% of toluene as well as methanol vapors when the feed flow rate was up to 60cc/min. The percent removal of VOCs were even higher when the feed inlet concentration was higher. This process is especially suitable for treating streams having a low flow rate and high VOCs concentration. The permeances of VOCs through this membrane was in the range of $4~30 \times 10^{-9}gmol/sec \cdot cm^{2}\cdot cmHg$ for both toluene and methanol, and nitrogen permeance was between $3~9 \times 10^{-10}gmol/sec \cdot cm^{2} \cdot cmHg$. High separation factor between 10~55 for toluene/N$_{2}$ and 15~125 for methanol/N$_{2}$ were obtained depending on the feed flow rate ranges and feed VOCs concentration levels.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.220-228
• /
• 2016

Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) hollow fiber membranes were prepared by carbonizing a polyimide precursor manufactured by non-solvent induced phase separation process. Gas separation performance of CMS hollow fiber membrane was investigated on the effect of three carbonization conditions. CMS membrane with the highest gas separation performance was obtained at the pyrolysis temperature of $250-450^{\circ}C$: $N_2$, $SF_6$, and $CF_4$ permeance were 20, 0.32, 0.48 GPU, respectively, and $N_2/SF_6$ and $N_2/CF_4$ selectivities were 62 and 42, respectively. In the $SF_6/CF_4/N_2$ mixture gas test, when the stage cut was 0.2, the recovery ratio of $SF_6$ and $CF_4$ was over 99% and 98%. $SF_6$ concentration ratio was 4.5 times higher than the $SF_6$ concentration at the feed side. From the results, it was concluded that CMS membrane was one of the promising membranes for recovery Perfluorocompound gases process.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.793-799
• /
• 2010

Kimchi was fermented in permeability-controlled polyethylene containers, in glazed onggi (Korean ethnic earthenware) or glass bottles at $5^{\circ}C$ for 8 weeks. During 4 weeks of storage, kimchi fermented in the permeability-controlled container showed a stable fermentation pattern, in terms of changes in pH and acidity, compared with kimchi fermented in the other containers. With respect to changes in bacterial counts, kimchi fermented in polyethylene containers showed vigorous multiplication of lactic acid bacteria, especially Lactobacillus sp., but slow growth of total aerobic bacteria. The springiness of kimchi fermented in the polyethylene containers was optimal (about 10% more than that of glass bottle-fermented kimchi), and the overall acceptability and hardness of container-fermented kimchi were excellent upon sensory evaluation. The DPPH radical-scavenging activity of kimchi fermented in polyethylene containers was also greater (91%) than that of kimchi fermented in glazed onggi (73%) or glass bottles (63%). The $O_2$ and $CO_2$ permeabilities of the polyethylene containers were higher (458 and $357\;mmol\;h^{-1}\;m^{-2}\;atm^{-1}$, respectively) than were those of the other containers; the permeability ratio was 0.8. Glass bottles showed no permeance. The results indicate that permeability-controlled polyethylene containers may be used for kimchi fermentation.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.367-376
• /
• 2011

Huge amount of $CH_4$ mixtures has been emitted from landfills and organic wastes via anaerobic digestion. The recovery of high purity $CH_4$ from these gases has two merits: reduction of green house gases and production of renewable fuels. Membrane technology based on polymeric materials can be used in this application. In this study, asymmetric gas separation hollow fiber membranes were fabricated to develop the membrane-based bio-gas purification process. Polyethersulfone (PES) was chosen as a polymer materials because of high $CO_2$ permeability of 3.4 barrer and $CO_2/CH_4$ selectivity of 50[1]. Acetone was used as a non-solvent additive because of its unique swelling power for PES and highly volatile character. The prepared PES hollow fiber showed excellent separation properties: 36 GPU of $CO_2$ permeance and 46 of $CO_2/CH_4$ selectivity at optimized preparation conditions: 9wt% acetone content, 10cm air-gap and 4wt% PDMS coating processes. With the PES hollow fiber membranes developed, mixed $CO_2/CH_4$ test was done by changing various operating conditions such as pressures and feed compositions to meet the highest recovery of CH4 with 95% purity. High $CH_4$ recovery of 58 wt% was observed at 10 atm feed pressure for the 50 vol% of $CO_2$ in $CO_2/CH_4$ mixture.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.62-71
• /
• 2011

Highly enriched oxygen is used in energy-efficient combustion due to decreased non-flammable nitrogen, while high purity nitrogen is used for explosion proof in the LNG ships and keeping the freshness of green stuffs. Membrane technology can be used in these $O_2$ and $N_2$ generation with low energy consumption. In this study, PES was used as a membrane material and 1-methyl-2-pyrollidone (NMP) and acetone were employed as a good solvent and nonsolvent addictive (swelling agent to PES), respectively. Dope solutions were prepared by changing the content of acetone (0, 6.5, 15, 25, 31.5 wt%) in 37 wt% PES solutions. Hollow fiber spinning was performed at 0~10 cm of air-gap distances for each dope solution. $O_2/N_2$ selectivity and permeability were investigated by comparing of hollow fibers coated or not by silicons. $O_2/N_2$ selectivity increased and permeance of $O_2$ and $N_2$ decreased with increasing air-gap height independently of acetone addictions. Optimized PES hollow fibers were obtained with 37/6.5/56.5 wt% PES/acetone/NMP dope solution and 10 cm air-gap, which showed 7.3 of $O_2/N_2$ selectivity and 4.3 GPU of $O_2$ permeability after silicon coating.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.372-380
• /
• 2016

The present paper reports the effect of precursor alumina particle size on pore structure and single gas permeation properties of tubular ${\alpha}$-alumina supports, prepared by a combined process of slip casting and sintering. Pore diameter of as-prepared ${\alpha}$-alumina support was highly dependent on precursor ${\alpha}$-alumina particle size. Although, increase in the precursor particle size increases the pore diameter, but the porosity of ${\alpha}$-alumina support mainly control by sintering temperature. Sintering studies reveal that as sintering temperature increased porosity of support decreased. Single gas permeance results indicate that permence is proportional to the square of pore diameter and linearly to porosity. These dependencies revealed that gas permeation trough as-prepared ${\alpha}$-alumina support was governed by viscous flow mechanism. The present announces that precursor ${\alpha}$-alumina particle size and sintering temperature are key parameters to control gas permeantion properties of ${\alpha}$-alumina supports.