In recent years, the inorganic nanoparticles played an important role in the membrane technology due to their special properties, most notably being the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity modification of the active surface of the membrane. In this paper, the polymer used for membrane manufacturing was polysulfone (PSf) via phase-inversion method. The composite PSf membranes were prepared by blending zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and ZnO/TiO2 nanohybrid with three concentrations. Retention of Congo red dye, distilled water permeability, relative flux and relative flux reduction were tested in order to study the effects of the nanoparticles in the membrane matrix. SEM, EDX, porosity, roughness, contact angle, tensile strength and elongation measurement were conducted in this article, also. Compared with control PSf, ZnO/PSf and TiO2/PSf membranes, the experimental results indicated that the ZnO/TiO2/PSf nanohybrid membrane presents the best overall properties, including permeability, retention, and antifouling ability. ZnO/TiO2/PSf membrane exhibits a percentage increase in permeability of 254% and retention of 64.58 % relative to that of the control PSf membrane.
The activity of using membrane technology has developed fast in the treatment of wastewater, drinking water and process water production. The main challenges in membrane filtration are fouling reduction, permeability increase and high efficiency in retention. The best example of membrane enhancement is increasing hydrophilicity. Nanoparticles have been proven that their presence in the membrane matrix increases the water affinity significantly. Although the zinc oxide nanoparticles have a positive effect over the membrane performance, the influence of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle size has not been studied enough. Two sizes of nanoparticle of ZnO and three concentrations were used for the preparation of composite polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes. The effects of the ZnO nanoparticles in the membrane matrix on the permeation properties, flux stability and retention were tested. SEM, EDX, porosity and contact angle measurement were conducted in this article, also. The experimental results indicated that ZnO-PSf composite membranes exhibits significant differences in the membrane properties due to nanoparticle addition and regardless of their size it leads to an increase in hydrophilicity, flux, permeability, retention and porosity. Decreasing the nanoparticle size leads to an increase in membrane performance.
The prediction of polymer properties, based on its composition, it is a complex problem with no easy method to obtain directly and accurately results. Among the tribological properties, the friction coefficient and wear rate are the most interesting ones. The polymers based on epoxy resin, with clay as filler, show different properties depending on the clay concentration. This paper presents an analysis of the polymer properties variation with its filler concentration. Due to the tribological processes complexity, mechanical and thermal properties must be taken into account. The aim of this study is to find an optimal concentration value, with minimal influence on polymer properties. All value properties will be used in a neural network model in order to optimize and predict the composite properties.
Membrane research has managed to reach ever greater heights. The optimization of membrane processes is of common interest to industry, research and the domestic environment. Nanomaterials have been progressively researched in the membrane sector within the last decade, contributing in particular to their beneficial properties for the prevention of membrane fouling. This research investigates the effect of two shapes of ZnO nanomaterials, respectively nanoparticles and nanowires, on the properties of ultrafiltration membranes composed of 25 wt.% polysulfone. The method of membrane manufacturing is phase inversion, the immersion precipitation technique, and the procedure of nanomaterial incorporation into the polymeric matrix is known as blending. The results demonstrated the positive influence of nanomaterials on the performance of membranes, regardless of their shape, compared to the control membrane. In terms of permeability, the membrane with addition of ZnO nanoparticles showed an increase of 207.19 %, while the membrane with addition of zinc oxide nanowires recorded an increase of 89.16%.
The thermal coefficient of linear expansion, the electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity of fabric reinforced hybrid composites with filled stratified epoxy matrix were investigated. The measurements of electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity had been performed, using standard method regarding electrical resistance and electrical capacity. In order to point out the effect of filler and of the spatial distribution of reinforcement layers, the medial layer of fabric was especially prepared by introducing copper wires in the woven. So, the medial layer is made of different types of tows (carbon, aramid, glass). This attempt is made in order to design a composite able to provide information about its state during various loading. The results showed that the fillers did not improve the electrical parameters of epoxy matrix, but they led to reduce the thermal coefficient of linear expansion. The thermal and electrical behavior of hybrid composites varied in dependence of number of carbon layers and fiber orientation.
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