Temperature‐Modulated Water Filtration Using Microgel‐Functionalized Hollow‐Fiber Membranes |
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Authors: | Daniel Menne Fee Pitsch Dr John E Wong Prof Andrij Pich Prof Matthias Wessling |
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Institution: | 1. Chemical Process Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Turmstrasse 46, 52064 Aachen (Germany) http://www.avt.rwth‐aachen.de;2. Functional and Interactive Polymers, Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstrasse 50, 52074 Aachen (Germany);3. DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstrasse 50, 52074 Aachen (Germany) |
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Abstract: | In the present work, we investigate the potential of aqueous polymer microgels in membrane technology, especially for filtration applications. The poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam)‐based microgels exhibit thermoresponsive behavior and were employed to coat hollow‐fiber membranes used for micro‐ and ultrafiltration. We discuss the preparation of microgel‐modified membranes (by “inside‐out” as well as “outside‐in” filtration in dead‐end mode). The clean‐water permeability and stability of these membranes was studied not only as a function of time, but also of temperature. The microgel‐modified membranes exhibit a reversible thermoresponsive behavior whereby both the resistance and the retention increased with decreasing temperature. |
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Keywords: | dynamic adsorption hollow‐fiber membranes thermoresponsive microgels ultrafiltration membranes |
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