Preliminary study on the preparation and characterization of novel organophilic membranes used for organic extraction

• Main Author: Ong, Jeremy Yan Wen
• Other Authors: Wang Rong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Water treatment
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/61071
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the extractive membrane bioreactor (EMBR), typical silicon rubber membranes composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) can be considerably thick, causing a high mass transfer resistance which limits the extraction of organics. The thickness of the PDMS membrane cannot be simply reduced as they are no longer self-supporting from a critical thickness onwards but its resistance may be reduced through the use of a thin film composite (TFC) membrane. This paper documents the preparation of novel organophilic TFC hollow fiber membranes which consists of a thin and highly porous polyethermide (PEI) substrate made via the phase inversion method, followed by dip coating with a thin and highly hydrophobic dense PDMS selective layer. Membrane characterizations such as; morphology observation; mean pore size and overall porosity; mechanical properties; rheological properties; gas permeance and EMBR performance tests were conducted. The TFC hollow fiber membrane approach was able to outperform typical silicon rubber membranes in terms of increasing overall mass transfer coefficient (OMTC) rates, by one order of magnitude; suggesting that TFC membranes are a promising method of enhancing the EMBR for practical applications.