Preparation of polymer of intrinsic microporosity composite membranes and their applications for butanol recovery

Abstract

We fabricated novel composite membranes composed of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM‐1) and carbon black (CB) nanoparticles functionalized with the silane coupling agent aminopropyl triethoxysilane to recover butanol from aqueous solutions by pervaporation (PV). Scanning electron microscopy showed that the composite membranes were dense and defect free and had good adhesion with substrates. Compared with the those of pristine PIM‐1 membranes, the water contact angles of the composite membranes increased from around 86° to more than 90°; this confirmed the improvement of the hydrophobicity. The swelling degree of the 6 wt % CB‐filled PIM‐1 membranes dropped 23%; this indicated an increase in the swelling resistance. Furthermore, the PV results show experimentally that the incorporation of the functionalized CBs into the PIM‐1 matrix considerably improved both the permeability and selectivity to butanol. At a 4 wt % CB content, the optimum separation performance, with a separation factor of 19.7 and a permeation flux of 1116 g m−2 h−1, was achieved in an aqueous solution containing 5 wt % butanol at 30°C. It was noteworthy that the as‐fabricated membranes exhibited a good separation stability. This is a step forward in terms of continuous butanol production with hybrid membranes in fermentation processes. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 46912.

Membrane Technology for Energy Saving: Principles, Techniques, Applications, Challenges, and Prospects

“…[ 60 ] The nanocomposite membranes developed for this purpose are constructed from a polymer with intrinsic microporosity and functionalized carbon black nanoparticles, which enhance membrane hydrophobicity, resistance to swelling, and separation efficiency compared to pristine polymer membranes. [ 61 ] These hybrid membranes also hold promise for constructing membrane reactors that can directly extract butanol from fermentation broth.…”

Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity Based on Dibenzodioxin Linkage: Design, Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

“…Further study on selective separation of butanol by employing a composite membrane of PIM-1, aminopropyltriethoxysilane and nanosized carbon black (which reduce swelling and increase hydrophobicity of the membrane) results in higher separation factor of 19.7. [119] PIM-1 based pervaporation membrane has been studied for separation of different volatile organic compounds, viz., ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, acetic acid, isopropanol, 1,4-dioxane etc. from wastewater samples.…”

“…The permeabilities and the ideal separation factors decrease in the order methanol ( P =315.6 kg μm m −2 h −1 & α id =30.3) > ethanol ( P =113.1 kg μm m −2 h −1 & α id =10.9) > n ‐butanol ( P =38 kg μm m −2 h −1 & α id =3.65) based on their molecular weights/sizes. Further study on selective separation of butanol by employing a composite membrane of PIM‐1, aminopropyltriethoxysilane and nanosized carbon black (which reduce swelling and increase hydrophobicity of the membrane) results in higher separation factor of 19.7 [119] . PIM‐1 based pervaporation membrane has been studied for separation of different volatile organic compounds, viz., ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, acetic acid, isopropanol, 1,4‐dioxane etc.…”

Green synthesis of polymeric membranes: Recent advances and future prospects

“…Examples of green or less toxic organic solvents are methyl lactate, ethyl lactate, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2), ionic liquids, DMSO and triethylphosphate (TEP) [56]. For example, PIMs are commonly synthesized using toxic organic solvents, such as DMAc and toluene [57][58][59]. Ponomarev et al [60] developed a new method to effectively synthesize PIMs using DMSO as the solvent.…”