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Separations
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Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process
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Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials in Separation Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2022) | Viewed by 20660

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yakai Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Beijing Key Laboratory of Membrane Materials and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: membrane; thermally induced phase separation; ultrafiltration; nanofiltration; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Dr. Wenzhong Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science & Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Interests: hybrid membrane; solvent resistant membrane; pervaporation; nanofiltration; ultrafiltration; membrane structure
Dr. Yuanhui Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: membrane formation; phase separation; modeling and simulations; membrane application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer-based membranes have advanced or novel functions in the various membrane separation processes for liquid and gaseous mixtures (gas separation, pervaporation, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration) and in other important applications of membranes such as water purification, solvent concentration, and recovery. In recent years, advanced membrane technologies, including new membrane materials, membrane preparation technology and membrane processes, have been at the forefront of research. In this Special Issue, the emphasis will be on the polymer structure–membrane property relationships, as well as trends in industrial applications. Contributions on all types of polymeric membrane (gas separation, pervaporation, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration) are welcome. Some of the topics include but are not limited to innovative production methods for advanced nanotechnology, advanced membrane materials, novel membrane preparation, and process technology. Authors are also encouraged to highlight performance for sustainable processes of the produced membranes in a number of areas such as applications involving water, gas, electrons or a combination of these.

As Guest Editors, our hope is that this Special Issue will be of interest to the majority of Membranes readers and will serve as a stimulus to further progress research in the field of polymeric membranes and applications. This Special Issue looks at these and other aspects of current research in innovative advanced membrane materials and technology.

Dr. Yakai Lin
Dr. Wenzhong Ma
Dr. Yuanhui Tang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Polymeric membrane preparation
  • Gas separation
  • Pervaporation
  • Reverse osmosis
  • Nanofiltration
  • Ultrafiltration
  • Microfiltration
  • Water treatment

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

4 pages, 204 KiB  
Editorial
Novel Polymeric Membranes Preparation and Membrane Process
by Wenzhong Ma, Yakai Lin and Yuanhui Tang
Separations 2022, 9(9), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9090253 - 7 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1828
Abstract
Polymer-based membranes have advanced or novel functions in the various membrane separation processes for liquid and gaseous mixtures, such as gas separation, pervaporation (PV), reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), and in other critical applications of membranes such as water [...] Read more.
Polymer-based membranes have advanced or novel functions in the various membrane separation processes for liquid and gaseous mixtures, such as gas separation, pervaporation (PV), reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), and in other critical applications of membranes such as water purification, solvent concentration, and recovery [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)

Research

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12 pages, 3898 KiB  
Article
Study of the Dissolution and Diffusion of Propane, Propylene and Nitrogen in Polydimethylsiloxane Membranes with Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Monte Carlo Simulation
by Weibin Cai, Mingqian Wang, Gary Q. Yang, Zhijun Zhang, Yujun Wang and Jiding Li
Separations 2022, 9(5), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9050116 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2735
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important sources of atmospheric pollutants on account of their high recycling value. The membrane of dense silicone rubber polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has wide-ranging prospects for the separation and recovery of VOCs. In this study, PDMS membrane body models were [...] Read more.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important sources of atmospheric pollutants on account of their high recycling value. The membrane of dense silicone rubber polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has wide-ranging prospects for the separation and recovery of VOCs. In this study, PDMS membrane body models were established in BIOVIA Materials Studio (MS) to simulate VOCs with C3/N2 gases, and to study the structure of PDMS membranes and the dissolution and diffusion process of gas in the membranes. The free volume fraction (FFV), cohesive energy density (CED), radial distribution function (RDF), diffusion coefficient and solubility coefficient of C3H8, C3H6 and N2 in PDMS membranes were calculated, and the permeability coefficients were calculated according to these values. At the same time, the effects of temperature and mixed gas on the dissolution and diffusion of C3/N2 in PDMS membranes were investigated. The results show that the mass transfer process of C3 in PDMS membranes is mainly controlled by the dissolution process, while that of N2 is mainly controlled by the diffusion process. In a C3/N2 mixed gas system, there is a synergistic relationship between gases in the diffusion process, while there is competitive adsorption in the dissolution process. With an increase in temperature, the diffusion coefficients of the three gases in PDMS gradually increase, the solubility coefficients gradually decrease, and the overall permeability selectivity coefficients of the gases gradually decrease. Therefore, low-temperature conditions are more conducive to the separation of C3/N2 in PDMS membranes. The simulation results of the permeability selectivity coefficients of pure C3 and N2 in PDMS are similar to the experimental results, and the relationship between the micro- and macro-transport properties of PDMS membranes can be better understood through molecular simulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)
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12 pages, 3762 KiB  
Article
n-Octyltrichlorosilane Modified SAPO-34/PDMS Mixed Matrix Membranes for Propane/Nitrogen Mixture Separation
by Weibin Cai, Jiangyu Xie, Jingyu Luo, Xiaohan Chen, Mingqian Wang, Yujun Wang and Jiding Li
Separations 2022, 9(3), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9030064 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2755
Abstract
In this study, zeolite molecular sieve SAPO-34/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared to recover propane. n-Octyltrichlorosilane (OTCS) was introduced to improve compatibility between SAPO-34 and PDMS, and enhance the separation performance of the MMMs. Physicochemical properties of the MMMs were characterized [...] Read more.
In this study, zeolite molecular sieve SAPO-34/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared to recover propane. n-Octyltrichlorosilane (OTCS) was introduced to improve compatibility between SAPO-34 and PDMS, and enhance the separation performance of the MMMs. Physicochemical properties of the MMMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and water contact angle (WCA). Results showed that, after modification, alkyl chains were successfully grafted onto SAPO-34 without changing its crystal structure, particles in the MMMs were evenly distributed in the base film, and the hydrophobicity of the MMMs was enhanced. Moreover, the effects of SAPO-34 filling content, operating pressure, and feed gas concentration on the separation performance was explored. This indicated that the modification with OTCS effectively enhanced the separation performance of SAPO-34/PDMS MMMs. When the filling content of modified SAPO-34 was 15%, the maximal separation factor of 22.1 was achieved, and the corresponding propane permeation rate was 101 GPU. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)
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14 pages, 14897 KiB  
Article
A Pilot-Scale Treatment of Steel Plant Wastewater by PVDF Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membrane with Low Packing Density
by Yangang Zhang, Zhangfu Yuan, He Bai, Linfei Zhao, Liudong He and Chunhong Shi
Separations 2022, 9(2), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9020037 - 30 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2600
Abstract
The treatment of wastewater from the iron and steel industry is difficult due to its complex and changeable characteristics. This paper introduces the application of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-pressurized ultrafiltration membrane with low packing density that produced via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) in [...] Read more.
The treatment of wastewater from the iron and steel industry is difficult due to its complex and changeable characteristics. This paper introduces the application of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-pressurized ultrafiltration membrane with low packing density that produced via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) in wastewater of iron and steel industry, to study the effects of packing density of ultrafiltration membrane modules as well as the membrane performance under different operation conditions, in order to provide guidance for the subsequent development of other ultrafiltration applications in wastewater of iron and steel. The results show a significant positive effect of smaller packing density on the transmembrane pressure difference (TMP) reducing and higher permeability. Under 30 min filtration cycle and 65 L m−2 h−1 (LMH) operation flux, the permeability can be stabilized to 200 L/(m2·h)/0.1 MPa, which is two times higher than that of the membrane module with 0.3 m2/m3 higher packing density under the same condition. It is obvious that compared with enhanced flux maintenance (EFM), chemically enhanced backwash (CEB) is a more effective cleaning method for iron and steel wastewater, which maintains TMP (30 kPa) without any significant increase under the premise of ensuring the high-flux (65 LMH) operation. The results also suggest reasonable parameters based on the test water quality, which include the filtration cycle and operation flux. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and the turbidity of the permeate show that the ultrafiltration membrane has good intercept ability and high anti-pollution performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)
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16 pages, 5787 KiB  
Article
PVA-Based MMMs for Ethanol Dehydration via Pervaporation: A Comparison Study between Graphene and Graphene Oxide
by Xia Zhan, Rui Ge, Zhongyong Gao, Teng Gao, Luying Wang and Jiding Li
Separations 2022, 9(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9020026 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3468
Abstract
Two different types of 2D nanosheets, including hydrophobic graphene (GR) and hydrophilic graphene oxide (GO), were filled into poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymers to prepare mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for ethanol dehydration via pervaporation. The relationship between the physical/chemical properties of graphene and [...] Read more.
Two different types of 2D nanosheets, including hydrophobic graphene (GR) and hydrophilic graphene oxide (GO), were filled into poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymers to prepare mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for ethanol dehydration via pervaporation. The relationship between the physical/chemical properties of graphene and pervaporation performance of MMMs was investigated by a comparison of GR/PVA and GO/PVA MMMs in microstructure and PV performance. The incorporation of GO nanosheets into PVA reduced PVA crystallinity and enhanced the membrane hydrophilicity, while the incorporation of GR into PVA led to the opposite results. The incorporation of GR/GO into PVA depressed the PVA membrane swelling degree, and the incorporation of GR showed a more obvious depression effect. GR/PVA MMMs showed a much higher separation factor than GO/PVA MMMs, while they exhibited a much lower permeation flux than GO/PVA MMMs and pristine PVA membranes. The huge difference in microstructure and performance between GO/PVA and GR/PVA MMMs was strongly associated with the oxygen-containing groups on graphene lamellae. The higher permeation flux of GO/PVA MMMs was ascribed to the facilitated transport of water molecules induced by oxygen-containing groups and exclusive channels provided by GO lamellae, while the much lower permeation flux and higher separation factor GR/PVA MMMs was resulted from the smaller GR interplanar spacing (0.33 nm) and hydrophobicity as well as barrier effect of GR lamellae on the sorption and diffusion of water molecules. It was presumed that graphene intercalated with an appropriate number of oxygen-containing groups might be a good choice to prepare PVA-based MMMs for ethanol dehydration, which would combine the advantages of GR’s high interlayer diffusion selectivity and GO’s high permeation properties. The investigation might open a door to achieve both of high permeation flux and separation factor of PVA-based MMMs by tuning the microstructure of graphene. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)
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Review

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44 pages, 14112 KiB  
Review
Review of New Approaches for Fouling Mitigation in Membrane Separation Processes in Water Treatment Applications
by Mervette El Batouti, Nouf F. Alharby and Mahmoud M. Elewa
Separations 2022, 9(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations9010001 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 71 | Viewed by 11485
Abstract
This review investigates antifouling agents used in the process of membrane separation (MS), in reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), microfiltration (MF), membrane distillation (MD), and membrane bioreactors (MBR), and clarifies the fouling mechanism. Membrane fouling is an incomplete substance formed on [...] Read more.
This review investigates antifouling agents used in the process of membrane separation (MS), in reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), microfiltration (MF), membrane distillation (MD), and membrane bioreactors (MBR), and clarifies the fouling mechanism. Membrane fouling is an incomplete substance formed on the membrane surface, which will quickly reduce the permeation flux and damage the membrane. Foulant is colloidal matter: organic matter (humic acid, protein, carbohydrate, nano/microplastics), inorganic matter (clay such as potassium montmorillonite, silica salt, metal oxide, etc.), and biological matter (viruses, bacteria and microorganisms adhering to the surface of the membrane in the case of nutrients) The stability and performance of the tested nanometric membranes, as well as the mitigation of pollution assisted by electricity and the cleaning and repair of membranes, are reported. Physical, chemical, physico-chemical, and biological methods for cleaning membranes. Biologically induced biofilm dispersion effectively controls fouling. Dynamic changes in membrane foulants during long-term operation are critical to the development and implementation of fouling control methods. Membrane fouling control strategies show that improving membrane performance is not only the end goal, but new ideas and new technologies for membrane cleaning and repair need to be explored and developed in order to develop future applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Novel Polymeric Membranes and Membrane Process)
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