• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2022

In this work, the solvent permeation and separation performance of organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes were evaluated. Particularly, the PuraMem (PM) series developed for nonpolar solvents were analyzed and tested in dead-end filtration system. PM membranes exhibited higher permeance for nonpolar solvents compared to polar solvents, and their rejection data did not follow conventional trends with respect to solute size. The data showed that simple solution-diffusion model is not suitable to describe the OSN membrane behavior, and a better solvent-solute-membrane interaction parameter must be developed.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.282-292
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• 2021

In this work, we tested commercial organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes using both in-house dead-end and crossflow systems. Four different crosslinked polyimide Duramem (DM) OSN membranes with various MWCO (molecular weight cut off) values were tested in organic solvents such as ethanol, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetone and acetonitrile. The membranes exhibited more reliable and reproducible performance in the crossflow system, and the performance changed significantly depending in the physical properties of the testing solvent. This is due to the initial stabilization period via pressure-induced compaction phenomenon, which can be vastly different between membrane samples. Hence, to obtain reliable and reproducible results, crossflow system is the preferred choice.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.420-426
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• 2017

Recently, solvent-resistant nanofiltration membranes have been studied for the separation of solvents or solutes using a molecular weight cut-off system of the polymer which is resistant to a specific solvent. Required conditions for these membranes must have are excellent physical properties and solvent resistance. Polybenzimidazole, which is known to be one of the most heat-resistant commercially available polymers, has an excellent inherent solvent resistance and it is even insoluble in stronger organic solvents when cross-linked. Therefore, in this study, the applicability of polybenzimidazole as a solvent resistant nanofiltration membrane was discussed. The membrane was fabricated using the non-solvent induced phase separation method and showed a suitable morphology as a nanofiltration membrane confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the permeance of the solvent in the presence or absence of cross-linking was investigated and the stability was also confirmed through long operation. The permeance test was carried out with five different solvents: water, ethanol, benzene, N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP); each of the initial flux was $6500L/m^2h$ (water, 2 bar), $720L/m^2h$ (DMAc, 5 bar), $185L/m^2h$ (benzene, 5 bar), $132L/m^2h$ (NMP, 5 bar), $65L/m^2h$ (ethanol, 5 bar) and the pressure between 2 and 5 bar was applied depending on the type of membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.348-354
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• 2019

Recently, the application range of organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) technology has been expanding, requiring membranes with better performance. In this work, thin film composite (TFC) OSN membrane was fabricated. First, ultrafiltration support membrane was prepared via nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) technique using polysulfone (PSf) and polyethersulfone (PES). Then, the effect of pore forming additives such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and pluronic F-127 were employed to improve the membrane permeance. The well-known interfacial polymerization technique was employed using MPD-TMC chemistry to form a thin film on top of the fabricated support, and its solvent permeance and nanofiltration performance was characterized. It was found that polyethersulfone support exhibited more reliable performance compared to polysulfone, and PVP additive was more effective compared to Pluronic F-127. As for the oSN performance, polar aprotic solvents like acetonitrile show significantly higher flux (986.5 L·m^-2·h^-1·bar^-1) compared to water and EtOH (9.5 L·m^-2·h^-1·bar^-1).

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.409-415
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• 2023

Apart from developing better membranes, a clever reconfiguration of membrane cascade process can improve the solute selectivity and minimize solvent consumption. In this work, solvent resistant cellulose nanofiltration membranes were fabricated and the solute rejection performance in various organic solvents were tested. Interestingly, cellulose membranes exhibited unique negative rejection profile in non-polar solvents. Such trend could be exploited to yield reverse selectivity, which showed that low molecular weight solute could be concentrated in the retentate. It was found that more than 3-fold solvent saving could be achieved at the same final purity.