• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.690-694
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• 2015

Recently, direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC) among direct liquid fuel cells is studied actively. Economical hydrocarbon membranes alternative to fluorinated membranes for DFAFC's membrane are receiving attention. In this study, characteristics of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone, sPEEK) and sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone, PAES) membranes were compared with Nafion membrane at DFAFC operation condition. Formic acid crossover current density of hydrocarbon membranes were lower than that of Nafion 211 fluorinated membrane. I-V performance of sPEEK MEA(Membrane and Electrode Assembly) was similar to that of Nafion 211 MEA due to similar membrane resistance each other. sPEEK MEA with low formic acid crossover showed higher stability compared with Nafion 211 MEA.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2006

In this study, we have purified and characterized the membrane bound nitrate reductase obtained from the denitrifying bacteria, Ochrobactrum anthropi SY509, which was isolated from soil samples. O. anthropi SY509 can grow in minimal medium using nitrate as a nitrogen source. We achieved an overall purification rate of 15-fold from the protein extracted from the membrane fraction, with a recovery of approximately 12% of activity. The enzyme exhibited its highest level of activity at pH 5.5, and the activity was increased up to $70^{\circ}C$. Periplasmic and cytochromic proteins, including nitrite and nitrous oxide reductase, were excluded during centrifugation and were verified using enzyme essay. Reduced methyl viologen was determined to be the most efficient electron donor among a variety of anionic and cationic dyestuffs, which could be also used as an electron donor with dimethyl dithionite. The effects of purification and storage conditions on the stability of enzyme were also investigated. The activity of the membranebound nitrate reductase was stably maintained for over 2 weeks in solution. To maintain the stability of enzyme, the cell was disrupted using sonication at low temperatures, and enzyme was extracted by hot water without any surfactant. The purified enzyme was stored in solution with no salt to prevent any significant losses in activity levels.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.395-409
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• 2017

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a compact and efficient wastewater treatment and reclamation technology; but, it is limited by membrane fouling. The control of membrane fouling significantly increases operational and maintenance costs. Bacteria and their byproducts - extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) - are major contributors to membrane fouling in MBRs. A recent attempt at fouling mitigation is the development of aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR) through the integration of a novel biotechnology - aerobic granulation - and MBR. This paper provides an overview on the development of AGMBR to mitigate membrane fouling caused by bacteria and EPS. In AGMBR, EPS are used up in granule formation; and, the rigid structure of granules provides a surface for bacteria to attach to rather than the membrane surface. Preliminary research on AGMBR using synthetic wastewater show remarkable membrane fouling reduction compared to conventional MBR, thus improved membrane filtration. Enhanced performance in AGMBR using actual municipal wastewater at pilot-scale has also been reported. Therefore, further research is needed to determine AGMBR optimal operational conditions to enhance granule stability in long-term operations and in full-scale applications.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2005

PP hollow fiber membrane was hydrophilized by EVOH dip coating followed by low temperature plasma treatment and UV irradiation. EVOH coating attained high water flux without any prewetting but its stability did not guaranteed at high water permeation rate. At high water permeation rate, water flux declined gradually due to swelling and delamination of the EVOH coating layer causing pore blocking effect. However, plasma treatment reduces the swelling, which suppress delamination of the EVOH coating layer from PP support result in relieving the flux decline. Also, UV irradiation helped the crosslinking of the EVOH coating layer to enhance the performance at low water permeation rate. FT-IR and ESCA analyses reveal that EVOH dip coating performed homogeneously through not only membrane surface but also matrix. Thermogram of EVOH film modified plasma treatment and W irradiation show that crosslinking density of EVOH layer increased. Chemical modification by plasma treatment and UV irradiation stabilized the hydrophilic coating layer to increase the critical flux of the submerged membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.351-362
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• 2021

All-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the promising high-capacity energy storage technologies. The ion-exchange membrane (IEM) is a key component influencing the charge-discharge performance and durability of VRFB. In this study, a pore-filled anion-exchange membrane (PFAEM) was fabricated by filling the pores of porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) support with excellent physical and chemical stability to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing hydrocarbon-based IEMs. The use of a thin porous PTFE support significantly lowered the electrical resistance, and the use of the PTFE support and the introduction of a fluorine moiety into the filling ionomer significantly improved the oxidation stability of the membrane. As a result of the evaluation of the charge-discharge performance, the higher the current efficiency was seen by increasing the fluorine content in the PFAEM, and the superior voltage and energy efficiencies were shown owing to the lower electrical resistance compared to the commercial membrane. In addition, it was confirmed that the use of a hydrophobic PTFE support is more preferable in terms of oxidation stability and charge-discharge performance.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.415-421
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• 2015

$SrCo_{0.8}Fe_{0.1}Nb_{0.1}O_{3-{\delta}}$ oxide was synthesized by solid state reaction method. Dense ceramic membrane was prepared using as-prepared powder by pressing and sintering at $1250^{\circ}C$. XRD result of membrane showed single perovskite structure. The oxygen permeability were measured under 0.21 atm of oxygen partial pressure ($P_{O_2}$) and between 800 and $950^{\circ}C$. The oxygen permeation flux of $SrCo_{0.8}Fe_{0.1}Nb_{0.1}O_{3-{\delta}}$ membrane was increased with the increasing temperature. The maximum oxygen permeation flux was $1.839mL/min{\cdot}cm^2$ at $950^{\circ}C$. Long period permeability experiment was carried out to confirm the phase stability and $CO_2$-tolerance of membrane containing Nb in the condition of air with $CO_2$ (500 ppm) as feed stream at $900^{\circ}C$. The phase stability and $CO_2$-tolerance of $SrCo_{0.8}Fe_{0.1}Nb_{0.1}O_{3-{\delta}}$ were investigated by XRD and TG analysis. The result of $SrCo_{0.8}Fe_{0.1}Nb_{0.1}O_{3-{\delta}}$ which exposed carbon dioxide for 100 hours indicated 8wt% of $SrCO_3$. But it was known that the level of $SrCO_3$ production dose not have a significant effect on oxygen permeability.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2007

The reliability of innovative membrane contactors technology (i.e. Gas/Liquid Membrane Contactors, Membrane Distillation/Crystallization) is today increasing for seawater desalination processes, where traditional pressure-driven membrane separation units are routinely operated. Furthermore, conventional membrane operations can be integrated with membrane contactors in order to promote possible improvements in process efficiency, operational stability, environmental impact, water quality and cost. Seawater is the most abundant aqueous solution on the earth: the amount of dissolved salts covers about 3% of its composition, and six elements (Na, Mg, Ca, K, Cl, S) account for more than 90% of ionic species. Recent investigations on Membrane Distillation-Crystallization have shown the possibility to achieve significant overall water recovery factors, to limit the brine disposal problem, and to recover valuable salts (i.e. calcium sulphate, sodium chloride, magnesium sulphate) by combining this technology with conventional RO trains. In this work, the kinetics of $CaSO_4{\cdot}2H_2O,\;NaCl\;and\;MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$ crystallization is experimentally investigated in order to improve the design of the membrane-based crystallization unit.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1994.04a
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• pp.51-52
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• 1994

High permeability, selectivity and stability are the basic properties also required for membrane gas separations. The $CO_2$ separation by liquid membranes has been developed as a new technique to improve the permeability and selectivity of polymeric membranes. Sirkar et al.(1) have atlempted the hollow-fiber contained liquid membrane technique under four different operational modes, and permeation models have been proposed for all modes. Compared to a conventional liquid membrane, the diffusional resistance decreased by the work of Teramoto et al.(2), who referred to a moving liquid membrane. Recently, Shelekhin and Beckman (3) considered the possibility of combining absorption and membrane separation processes in one integrated system called a membrane absorber. Their analysis could be predicted effectively the performance of flat sheet membrane, however, there are restrictions for considering a flow effect. The gas absorption rate is determined by both an interfacial area and a mass transfer coefficient. It can be easily understood that although the mass transfer coefficients in hollow fiber modules are smaller than in conventional contactors, the substantial increase of the interfacial area can result in a more efficient absorber (4). In order to predict a performance in the general system of hollow-fiber membrane absorber, a gas-liquid mass transfor should be investigated inevitably. The influence of liquid velocity on both a mass transfer and a performance will be described, and then compared with experimental results. A present study is attempted to provide the fundamentals for understanding aspects of promising a hollow-fiber membrane absorber.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.50-53
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1992.10a
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• pp.55-56
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• 1992

본 연구에서는 산/염기 수용액의 탈수분리에 이미 complex site를 가진 막을 투과증발에 응용하는 것이 아니라, 공급액으로 사용되는 산/염기와 complex를 형성할수 있는 작용기를 가진 막을 그들 수용액의 탈수분리에 응용함으로써 형성된 complex site로 분리성능의 향상을 도모하였다. 또한, 분리대상물내의 한성분이 couter ion으로 작용하는 점을 이용하여 long-term stability의 문제도 해결하고자 하였다.