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Innovative Polymer Membrane Materials: Design, Physicochemical Properties, and Mass Transfer Characterization

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A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2022) | Viewed by 11518

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alexandra Pulyalina

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Guest Editor

Institute of Chemistry, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskiy pr. 26, 198504 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: polymeric membranes; nanomodifiers; mixed matrix membranes; pervaporation; gas separation; ultrafiltration; membrane characterization
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Dr. Galina Polotskaya

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Guest Editor

Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Bolshoy pr. 31, Saint Petersburg 199004, Russia
Interests: polymer membranes; membrane materials; membrane separation

Dr. Valeriia Rostovtseva

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Guest Editor

Institute of Chemistry, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskiy pr. 26, Saint Petersburg 198504, Russia
Interests: materials; polymers; membranes; membrane separation; nanomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane-based separation techniques have recently been undergoing rapid development and innovation. The growing popularity of membrane methods stems from energy and cost efficiency against convenient methods involving a phase transition. A crucial factor affecting process performance is a selection of membrane materials that typically include polymers and inorganic substances. With advances in chemical synthesis and modification techniques, membrane materials can be designed with a variety of structures and physicochemical and separation properties to address the unique needs in industrial applications (food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic, petrochemical and fuels, etc.).

This Special Issue is dedicated to discussing the whole gamut of challenges and research relating to innovative membranes. Topics include but are not limited to different synthesis routes of materials and approaches to membrane modification and composites preparation; investigation of physicochemical parameters and their management by design tools; and mass transfer characterization via various membrane technologies for gas and liquid separation. Research articles and reviews on advanced membrane materials with studies of their properties and application are welcome for submission.

Dr. Alexandra Pulyalina
Dr. Galina Polotskaya
Dr. Valeriia Rostovtseva
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. Membranes 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 2700 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

polymer membranes
polymer composites
mixed matrix membranes
gas and liquid separation
physical parameters
structure
mass transport

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 6311 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interfacial Modulation of Graphene by Polythiophene with Controlled Molecular Weight to Enhance Thermal Conductivity

by Ya Li, Yu Wang, Peng Chen, Ru Xia, Bin Wu and Jiasheng Qian

Membranes 2021, 11(11), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11110895 - 19 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1907

Abstract

With a trend of continuing improvement in the development of electronic devices, a problem of serious heat accumulation has emerged which has created the need for more efficient thermal management. Graphene sheets (GNS) have drawn much attention with regard to heat transfer because of their excellent in-plane thermal conductivity; however, the ultrahigh interfacial thermal resistance between graphene lamellae has seriously restricted its practical applications. Herein, we describe heat transfer membranes composed of graphene which have been modified by intrinsic thermally conductive polymers with different molecular weights. The presence of macromolecular surface modifiers not only constructed the graphene heat transfer interface by π–π interactions, but also significantly enhanced the membranes’ in-plane thermal conductivity by utilizing their intrinsic heat transfer properties. Such results indicated that the in-plane thermal conductivity of the fabricated membrane exhibits a high in-plane thermal conductivity of 4.17 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, which, containing the GNS modified with 6000 g/mol (M_n) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), was 26 times higher that of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The P3HT molecular chain with specific molecular weight can form more matching structure π–π interactions, which promotes thermal conductivity. The investigation of different molecular weights has provided a new pathway for designing effective interfacial structures to relieve interface thermal resistance in thermally conductive membranes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Polymer Membrane Materials: Design, Physicochemical Properties, and Mass Transfer Characterization)

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13 pages, 4425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sodium Chloroacetate Modified Polyethyleneimine/Trimesic Acid Nanofiltration Membrane to Improve Antifouling Performance

by Kaifeng Gu, Sichen Pang, Yong Zhou and Congjie Gao

Membranes 2021, 11(9), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090705 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2550

Abstract

Nanofiltration (NF) is a separation technology with broad application prospects. Membrane fouling is an important bottleneck-restricting technology development. In the past, we prepared a positively charged polyethyleneimine/trimesic acid (PEI/TMA) NF membrane with excellent performance. Inevitably, it also faces poor resistance to protein contamination. Improving the antifouling ability of the PEI/TMA membrane can be achieved by considering the hydrophilicity and chargeability of the membrane surface. In this work, sodium chloroacetate (ClCH₂COONa) is used as a modifier and is grafted onto the membrane surface. Additionally, 0.5% ClCH₂COONa and 10 h modification time are the best conditions. Compared with the original membrane (M0, 17.2 L m⁻² h⁻¹), the initial flux of the modified membrane (M0-e, 30 L m⁻² h⁻¹) was effectively increased. After filtering the bovine albumin (BSA) solution, the original membrane flux dropped by 47% and the modified membrane dropped by 6.2%. The modification greatly improved the antipollution performance of the PEI/TMA membrane. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Polymer Membrane Materials: Design, Physicochemical Properties, and Mass Transfer Characterization)

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14 pages, 5056 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis of Polyurethane Membranes Derived from Red Seaweed Biomass for Ammonia Filtration

by Salfauqi Nurman, Saiful Saiful, Binawati Ginting, Rahmi Rahmi, Marlina Marlina and Yusuf Wibisono

Membranes 2021, 11(9), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090668 - 30 Aug 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2836

Abstract

The development of membrane technology is rapidly increasing due to its numerous advantages, including its ease of use, chemical resistant properties, reduced energy consumption, and limited need for chemical additives. Polyurethane membranes (PUM) are a particular type of membrane filter, synthesized using natural organic materials containing hydroxy (-OH) groups, which can be used for water filtration, e.g., ammonia removal. Red seaweed (Rhodophyta) has specific molecules which could be used for PUM. This study aimed to ascertain PUM synthesis from red seaweed biomass (PUM-RSB) by using toluene diisocyanate via the phase inversion method. Red seaweed biomass with a particle size of 777.3 nm was used as starting material containing abundant hydroxy groups visible in the FTIR spectrum. The PUM-RSB produced was elastic, dry, and sturdy. Thermal analysis of the membrane showed that the initial high degradation temperature was 290.71 °C, while the residue from the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis was 4.88%. The PUM-RSB section indicates the presence of cavities on the inside. The mechanical properties of the PUM-RSB have a stress value of 53.43 MPa and a nominal strain of 2.85%. In order to optimize the PUM-RSB synthesis, a Box–Behnken design of Response Surface Methodology was conducted and showed the value of RSB 0.176 g, TDI 3.000 g, and glycerin 0.200 g, resulting from the theoretical and experimental rejection factor, i.e., 31.3% and 23.9%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Polymer Membrane Materials: Design, Physicochemical Properties, and Mass Transfer Characterization)

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Review

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26 pages, 1531 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Recent Developments of Pervaporation Membranes for Ethylene Glycol Purification

by Valeriia Rostovtseva, Ilya Faykov and Alexandra Pulyalina

Membranes 2022, 12(3), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12030312 - 10 Mar 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3307

Abstract

Ethylene glycol (EG) is an essential reagent in the chemical industry including polyester and antifreeze manufacture. In view of the constantly expanding field of EG applications, the search for and implementation of novel economical and environmentally friendly technologies for the separation of organic and aqueous–organic solutions remain an issue. Pervaporation is currently known to significantly reduce the energy and resource consumption of a manufacturer when obtaining high-purity components using automatic, easily scalable, and compact equipment. This review provides an overview of the current research and advances in the pervaporation of EG-containing mixtures (water/EG and methanol/EG), as well as a detailed analysis of the relationship of pervaporation performance with the membrane structure and properties of membrane materials. It is discussed that a controlled change in the structure and transport properties of a membrane is possible using modification methods such as treatment with organic solvents, introduction of nonvolatile additives, polymer blending, crosslinking, and heat treatment. The use of various modifiers is also described, and a particularly positive effect of membrane modification on the separation selectivity is highlighted. Among various polymers, hydrophilic PVA-based membranes stand out for optimal transport properties that they offer for EG dehydrating. Fabricating of TFC membranes with a microporous support layer appears to be a viable approach to the development of productivity without selectivity loss. Special attention is given to the recovery of methanol from EG, including extensive studies of the separation performance of polymer membranes. Membranes based on a CS/PVP blend with inorganic modifiers are specifically promising for methanol removal. With regard to polymer wettability properties, it is worth mentioning that membranes based on hydrophobic polymers (e.g., SPEEK, PBI/PEI, PEC, PPO) are capable of exhibiting much higher selectivity due to diffusion limitations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Polymer Membrane Materials: Design, Physicochemical Properties, and Mass Transfer Characterization)

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