Biopolymer Membranes for Industrial Applications

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2016)

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With growing environmental concern, many efforts have been devoted to the development of new membranes using polymers from renewable sources, which should present a good compromise between flux and selectivity as well as chemical and mechanical stability. To date, polysaccharide-based membranes have been developed using starch, alginate and chitosan with successful application in pervaporation, fuel cells and adsorption processes, as well as in packaging. However, intensive research is being developed in microbial polysaccharides production, since they present new or improved properties, being competitive with natural polysaccharides as well as with synthetic polymers. This issue aims to collect key contributions to the field and give an overview about the use of biopolymer membranes in industrial processes for chemical, biological and environmental applications.

Dr. Isabel Coelhoso
Guest Editor


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Keywords

  • biopolymer membranes
  • polysaccharides
  • alginate
  • chitosan
  • starch
  • microbial polysaccharides
  • pervaporation
  • packaging
  • fuel cells
  • adsorption

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Article
Preparation and Characterization of Facilitated Transport Membranes Composed of Chitosan-Styrene and Chitosan-Acrylonitrile Copolymers Modified by Methylimidazolium Based Ionic Liquids for CO2 Separation from CH4 and N2
by Ksenia V. Otvagina, Alla E. Mochalova, Tatyana S. Sazanova, Anton N. Petukhov, Alexandr A. Moskvichev, Andrey V. Vorotyntsev, Carlos A. M. Afonso and Ilya V. Vorotyntsev
Membranes 2016, 6(2), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes6020031 - 9 Jun 2016
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 7869
Abstract
CO2 separation was found to be facilitated by transport membranes based on novel chitosan (CS)–poly(styrene) (PS) and chitosan (CS)–poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) copolymer matrices doped with methylimidazolium based ionic liquids: [bmim][BF4], [bmim][PF6], and [bmim][Tf2N] (IL). CS plays the [...] Read more.
CO2 separation was found to be facilitated by transport membranes based on novel chitosan (CS)–poly(styrene) (PS) and chitosan (CS)–poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) copolymer matrices doped with methylimidazolium based ionic liquids: [bmim][BF4], [bmim][PF6], and [bmim][Tf2N] (IL). CS plays the role of biodegradable film former and selectivity promoter. Copolymers were prepared implementing the latest achievements in radical copolymerization with chosen monomers, which enabled the achievement of outstanding mechanical strength values for the CS-based membranes (75–104 MPa for CS-PAN and 69–75 MPa for CS-PS). Ionic liquid (IL) doping affected the surface and mechanical properties of the membranes as well as the gas separation properties. The highest CO2 permeability 400 Barrers belongs to CS-b-PS/[bmim][BF4]. The highest selectivity α (CO2/N2) = 15.5 was achieved for CS-b-PAN/[bmim][BF4]. The operational temperature of the membranes is under 220 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymer Membranes for Industrial Applications)
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Review

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Review
Polysaccharide-Based Membranes in Food Packaging Applications
by Ana R. V. Ferreira, Vítor D. Alves and Isabel M. Coelhoso
Membranes 2016, 6(2), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes6020022 - 13 Apr 2016
Cited by 232 | Viewed by 18921
Abstract
Plastic packaging is essential nowadays. However, the huge environmental problem caused by landfill disposal of non-biodegradable polymers in the end of life has to be minimized and preferentially eliminated. The solution may rely on the use of biopolymers, in particular polysaccharides. These macromolecules [...] Read more.
Plastic packaging is essential nowadays. However, the huge environmental problem caused by landfill disposal of non-biodegradable polymers in the end of life has to be minimized and preferentially eliminated. The solution may rely on the use of biopolymers, in particular polysaccharides. These macromolecules with film-forming properties are able to produce attracting biodegradable materials, possibly applicable in food packaging. Despite all advantages of using polysaccharides obtained from different sources, some drawbacks, mostly related to their low resistance to water, mechanical performance and price, have hindered their wider use and commercialization. Nevertheless, with increasing attention and research on this field, it has been possible to trace some strategies to overcome the problems and recognize solutions. This review summarizes some of the most used polysaccharides in food packaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymer Membranes for Industrial Applications)
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