Study on the effect of air gap on physico-chemical and performance of PVDF hollow fibre membrane

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was chosen in this study as the main material in fabricating membrane due to its excellent chemical resistance and good thermal stability. Combination of triethyl phosphate (TEP) with DMAc produce better structure of membrane which safer and provide high mechanical strength for membrane. Surface modified PVDF hollow fibre membrane (HFM) was prepared using dry-wet spinning technique by varying air gap namely 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm. The morphology was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), contact angle, tensile test and performing water flux testing. From the characterization data, PVDF HFM with 3 wt.% PEG 400, HFM 3-10 and HFM 3-20 referred as microfiltration membrane with pore size range 0.1-0.8 µm. While, HFM 3-30 act as ultrafiltration membrane with pore size ranging 0.01-0.1 µm. Experimental results revealed that by increasing the air gap from 10 cm to 30 cm, the porosity and finger-like length decreased due to the higher elongational stress that shift the pores from broad to narrow. Thus, PVDF HFM at 10 cm air gap, HFM 3-10 achieve the highest water flux due to the higher porosity, longer finger-like length and hydrophilicity achieved. The modified HFM at shorter air gap was found to be a promising membrane structure for excellence water performance and eco-friendly to environment.

Challenges, Opportunities and Future Directions of Membrane Technology for Natural Gas Purification: A Critical Review

“…The concept of current technology was introduced by Lee et al [ 18 ] who fabricated a braid reinforced HF membrane in which a thin film of polymer resin was coated on the surface of the reinforcing tubular braid. Because of the superb mechanical strength of threads or fabric, they can also be used as an alternative to tubular braid as a supporting or reinforcing material for hollow fiber membranes [ 19 ].…”

Enhanced Solar Photocatalytic Reduction of Cr(VI) Using a (ZnO/CuO) Nanocomposite Grafted onto a Polyester Membrane for Wastewater Treatment

“…It can disturb the ecological food chain, as eating plants polluted plants chromium can cause diarrhea, nausea, lung tumors, and headaches in human beings; thus, wastewater treatment for chromium removal is essential for human and plant growth [8]. Some processes are generally used for the treatment of wastewater, such as membrane filtration, biodegradation, ion exchange, electrolysis, sorption, and coagulation [9,10]. However, these methods consume a high amount of energy, have a high sensitivity and high cost, and produce sludge during operation [11].…”