Membrane Materials

3.1: Polymer Membranes Selection criteria

1. The material must be available. 2. The material must be chemically stable in a range of conditions 3. The material must be formable. 4. The material may need to be approved for food or water contract for certain markets.

3.1.1: Cellulose Acetate

This group of materials was one of this first to be used for membranes For reverse osmosis the degree of salt retention can be varied by curing the membranes with heat. The advantage of cellulose acetate (CA) is that it is relatively inexpensive and that it is hydrophilic. hydrophilic Good resistance to fouling in some circumstances, particularly where fats and protein are at present. It also shows some limited resistance to the use of chlorine as sodium hypochlorate solution, which can be used for sanitisation and cleaning.

 One example of the use of this membrane is in the concentration of potato fruit water, an effluent stream that arises from the manufacture of starch from potatoes. The disadvantage is a tendency to hydrolysis outside a narrow pH and temperature range rapid hydrolysis occurs at pH values below 3, or above 7, or if the temperature exceeds 30 - 35C.

3.1.2: Polyimide thin film composites

These membranes are used for reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. nanofiltration The thin film is a dense layer of polyamide approximately 0.1 mm thick that is formed at the top surface of an ultrafiltration membrane by polymerising two or more monomers in situ. The thin film has a relatively low resistance to flow, which results in higher water fluxes than cellulose acetate membranes, and the chemical stability of the resulting composite in considerably better than comparable cellulosic membranes. Typically a pH range of 2 to 12 can be exploited for cleaning, and process temperatures of up to 70C are possible.

 The general weakness of this membrane is its very low tolerance to free chlorine. chlorine In some cases, particularly where caustic cleaning regimes are in use the effective maximum concentration tolerable is zero. This membrane can also be easily fouled. For example an effluent from coffee manufacture that was successfully concentrated with cellulose acetate membranes reduced the flux of a polyamide thin film composite membrane to zero in less than 12hrs of operation.

3.1.3: Polysulfone
This is an engineering polymer that can be used for ultrafiltration, microfiltration and gas separation membranes. membranes It has good chemical and temperature stability allowing operation up to 80C, and will tolerate a pH from 1.5 to 12 for cleaning. The limits for sustained operation on process are slightly more restrained. Prolonged exposure, or contact with high concentrations can cause cracking of the membrane film. film

 This is usually manifests itself as a rapid loss of process flux after each clean, whilst exhibiting unusually high clean water fluxes at the end of the cleans. The material finds wide use, with applications covering cheese whey protein recovery, lignosulphonate fractionation and clarifaction of pharmaceutical broths.

3.1.4: Sulphonated polysufone

This is a patented variation of polysulfone. It is available as a nanofiltration membrane for water treatment. This membrane is claimed to have a high tolerance to chlorine which eliminates the need for dechlorination of feed water in certain water treatment applications.

3.1.5: Polyethersulfone
This material has similar chemical and thermal limits to polysulfone and it is also available with similar molecular weight cut-off. However, its performance when in contact with process fluids can be markedly different.

3.1.6: Polyvinylidenedifluoride (PVDF)

The material is a popular choice for ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes. Similar pH and temperature limits as polysulphone, but has a higher tolerance to oxidising agents such as chlorine. This type of membrane is in the clarifation of fruit juices PVDF shows a clear advantage in performance over polysulfone membranes, with fluxes of up to double those of similar membranes. In addition PVDF can resist exposure to limonene, which is present in citrus fruits. fruits PVDF membranes are, therefore, extensively used for the clarification of lime juice.

3.1.7: Polyacrylonitrile
Membranes made from this material, either alone or as a copolymer, are often claimed to be hydrophilic and to exhibit a wider tolerance to solvents than some of the other membranes. membranes It is produced using the phase inversion technique and is available for separations in the ultrafiltration range.

3.1.8: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)

Not in widespread use in cross-flow systems, but some microfiltration membranes are available in a spiral format. Sheets of the material are stretched, producing randomly spaced PTFE fibres radiating from a series of nodes.

3.2: Ceramic Membranes

As with the polymeric membranes, a number of different materials are used. The French company TecSep manufacture a membrane with a porous carbon support and a membrane layer of zirconium oxide. oxide Membralox range, also produced in France, use a monolith of -alumina with a selective layer made of -alumina. The American company, Ceramem Separations uses Cordiurite, a material used for catalytic converters, as the material for their monolith. Currently these membranes are available in microfiltration and ultrafiltration format.

 In most cases, ceramic membranes enjoy a greater tolerance to acid and alkali than polymerics. pH range of 1 to 14 are quoted. This has led to these membranes being looked at for recovery of spent caustic wash solution in the food industry and for the regeneration of caustic degreasing baths. They also compete with polymeric membranes in various fields where the economics of long membrane life, or perceived robustness of the ceramics, are seen to favour the ceramic system.

3.3: Other Materials

Both glass and steel are used for membranes. The glass membranes are in the form of hollow fibres, and are available with pore sizes ranging from 10 90 nm. Their use is in the Biotech industries where the resistance to adsorption exhibited by these membranes results in significant reductions in product loss. Steel membranes are made from sintered stainless steel and are available in tubular formats. The membranes are very robust, making them suitable for aggressive environments, but the pore size is currently limited to the larger pore size end of microfiltration.

3.4: Non-membrane materials

Most membranes are supported by a non-woven sheet which is commonly made of polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene fibres. Seals are produced from commonly used elastomers such as nitrile rubber, EDPM or Viton. Glues are widely used for module and element construction. Many of these are two part epoxy resin-types or polyurethane. Frequently these have USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) approval for contact with foods. Finally a wide variety of plastics, which range from polysulphone to PVC

Struktur dan morfologi Simetrik Membran

Active skin layer semua permukaan sama

Struktur dan morfologi Tak Simetrik Membran

Surface layer Active skin layer

Porous membrane sublayer

Active Skin layer

Porous substructure

Zeolite particle

Struktur dan morfologi composite Membran