Electrostatic interaction between ion-penetrable membranes in a salt-free medium

A set of coupled equations is given which determines the distributions of the electric potential and counterions in a system of two interacting identical ion-penetrable membranes of thickness d at separation h immersed in a salt-free medium containing only counterions. The solution to these coupled equations also gives the electrostatic repulsive force between the membranes. It is shown that the interaction force remains finite at h-->0, unlike the case of the interaction between two planar charged surfaces (d-->0), and that the interaction force becomes independent of the membrane fixed charge and membrane thickness d at very large h. Finally, an approximate single transcendental equation giving the solution to the coupled equations is derived.     

甲烷直接氧化制甲醇Ⅱ．催化膜反应器（CMR）

采用溶胶－凝胶（Ｓｏｌ－Ｇｅｌ）法制备了微孔结构均匀的“ＳｉＯ＿２／陶瓷”膜和“Ｍｏ－Ｃｏ－·Ｏ／ＳｉＯ＿２／陶瓷”催化功能膜，并用ＸＲＤ、ＳＥＭ和孔径测定等技术进行了表征。在常压、５００～７００℃的条件下，在催化膜反应器（ＣＭＲ）中考察了甲烷氧化制甲醇的反应。在相似的反应条件下（转化率为１．０％），用ＣＭＲ（甲醇选择性１１．２％）可获得较固定床反应器（甲醇选择性４．５％）高得多的甲醇选择性。     

Racemic ofloxacin separation by supported-liquid membrane extraction with two organic phases

As the relation of chirality and activities of drugs is researched deeply, people become to re-alize the clinic importance of chirality. The different enantiomers of a drug can have vastly differ-ent pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetic processes and toxicity[1,2]. The most well-docu- mented example is that of the drug substance thalidomide. Bitter lessons and scientific research promote the interest in single-enantiomer drugs, so the potential of the chiral drug market is enormous[3]. …     

原位合成分子筛膜毛细管色谱柱的研制

吸附型多孔层毛细管柱既耐高温又对气体及烃类异构体有选择性，同时又具有毛细管色谱快速、高效等优点，是解决难分离组分的重要柱型．常用作气一固吸附色谱固定相的有强极性的硅、中极性的氧化铝、非极性的碳质及特殊吸附作用的分子筛．其中分子筛以其独特的吸附作用，在永久性气体和烃类碳数族组成分析中有重要地位．Pruecell和Soulages[1，2]等制备了涂渍型5A和13X型分子筛的毛细管柱，对低碳烃类化合物显示了良好的分离能力，分析柱温较填充柱降低约100℃．邹乃忠等[3～5]也先后制备了分子筛层的毛细管柱用来作直馏汽油的分析．由于通…     

Planar and tubular perovskite-type membrane reactors for the partial oxidation of methane to syngas

Dense planar and tubular oxygen separation membranes of La_0.6Ca_0.4Fe_0.75Co_0.25O_3– were investigated as reactors for the partial oxidation (POX) of methane to syngas. Their permeation properties were measured in an air/argon pO₂ gradient as a function of temperature. At 900 °C, the oxygen flux through a 1.26-mm-thick membrane was 0.075 mol/cm²·s and through a 0.25-mm-thick tube, 0.24 mol/cm²·s.For the POX measurements, a catalyst was added to the membrane and methane was introduced on the argon side. This resulted in a gradual increase of the oxygen flux with increasing concentration of methane, reaching 2 mol/cm²·s at 900 °C with pure methane. For the planar reactor, the CO selectivity reached 99% and the CH₄ conversion 75% at 918 °C with pure methane. For the tubular reactor, the CO selectivity and CH₄ conversion were 83 and 99%, respectively, under the same conditions. After 1,400 h of operation in a tubular POX reactor, the membrane was examined revealing phase demixing and local decomposition.Presented at the OSSEP Workshop Ionic and Mixed Conductors: Methods and Processes, Aveiro, Portugal, 10–12 April 2003     

Characterization of fibril reinforced membranes for fuel cells

Characteristics of fibril reinforced membranes developed by Asahi Glass Company are reviewed. PTFE-fibrils <1 μm in diameter are dispersed in ion-exchange membranes uniformly. Mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, tear strength, creep property and compressive property were examined and compared with non-reinforced membranes. Fibril reinforced membranes, even by the addition of a small amount of PTFE-fibrils (2.7 wt.%), show excellent mechanical strength, especially in creep and tear strength. Cell performance is nearly equal to the one using a non-reinforced membrane and cell voltage stays about the same during the cell operation at 80 °C for 3000 h.     

Methane conversion to C2 hydrocarbons in solid electrolyte membrane reactors

Solid electrolyte membrane reactors (SEMRs) have been used to both study and influence catalytic reaction rates. Methane coupling is the reaction most thoroughly and intensively studied in these membrane reactors. In the last 20 years, oxygen ion (O²⁻), proton (H⁺) and mixed (O²⁻-e⁻, H⁺-e⁻) conducting membranes have been tested in order to maximize the conversion of methane to C₂ compounds. The present review contains the fundamental operating principles of the various SEMR types and their applications in this reaction. The difficulties that should be overcome in order to promote this SEMR process to an industrial scale are discussed.     

A new dodecylsulfate-selective supported liquid membrane electrode based on its N-cetylpyridinium ion-pair

A supported liquid and a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-based membrane selective for dodecylsulfate (DS⁻) ion are described. The active element is a membrane containing a dissolved ion association complex of DS⁻ with cetylpyridinium (CP⁺) cation. The supported liquid membrane electrode (acetophenone as solvent) showed a Nernstian response towards the DS⁻ anion over the concentration range of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) from 8.3×10⁻³ to 1.0×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³ at 25 °C. The proposed electrode also showed a super-Nernstian potential response (108±2 mV decade⁻¹) at low concentrations (1.0×10⁻⁹ to 1.0×10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³). Moreover, this electrode showed good selectivity and precision (R.S.D.?2.0%), and was usable within the pH range 4.0-6.8. The proposed electrode revealed a lower limit of detection of 6.3×10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ and improved selectivity in comparison with the some previously reported DS⁻ ion selective electrodes. The isothermal temperature coefficient of this electrode amounted to −0.001 V °C⁻¹. The liquid membrane electrode may find application in the direct determination of SDS by the standard addition method at pH 5.0, and in the physicochemical studies of surfactant solutions.     

Preparation and characterization of sulfated zirconia (SO4/ZrO2)/Nafion composite membranes for PEMFC operation at high temperature/low humidity

Fine particle superacidic sulfated zirconia (SO₄²⁻/ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂) was synthesized by ameliorated method, and composite membranes with different S-ZrO₂ contents were prepared by a recasting procedure from a suspension of S-ZrO₂ powder and Nafion solution. The physico-chemical properties of the membranes were studied by ion exchange capacity (IEC) and liquid water uptake measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry (TG–MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the IEC of composite membrane increased with the content of S-ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂ was compatible with the Nafion matrix, the incorporation of the S-ZrO₂ could increase the crystallinity and also improve the initial degradation temperature of the composite membrane. The performance of single cell was the best when the S-ZrO₂ content was 15 wt.%, and achieved 1.35 W/cm² at 80 °C and 0.99 W/cm² at 120 °C based on H₂/O₂ and at a pressure of 2 atm, the performance of the single cell with optimized S-ZrO₂ was far more than that of the Nafion at the same condition (e.g. 1.28 W/cm² at 80 °C, 0.75 W/cm² at 120 °C). The 15 wt.% S-ZrO₂/Nafion composite membrane showed lower fuel cell internal resistance than Nafion membranes at high temperature and low relative humidity (RH).     

Evaluation of PTMSP membranes in achieving enhanced ethanol removal from fermentations by pervaporation

The use of membrane processes for the recovery of fermentation products has been gaining increased acceptance in recent years. Pervaporation has been studied in the past as a process for simultaneous fermentation and recovery of volatile products such as ethanol and butanol. However, membrane fouling and low permeate fluxes have imposed limitations on the effectiveness of the process. In this study, we characterize the performance of a substituted polyacetylene membrane, poly[(l-trimethylsilyl)-l-propyne] (PTMSP), in the recovery of ethanol from aqueous mixtures and fermentation broths. Pervaporation using PTMSP membranes shows a distinct advantage over conventional poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) membranes in ethanol removal. The flux with PTMSP is about threefold higher and the concentration factor is about twofold higher than the corresponding performance achieved with PDMS under similar conditions. The performance of PTMSP with fermentation broths shows a reduction in both flux and concentration factor relative to ethanol-water mixtures. However, the PTMSP membranes indicate initial promise of increased fouling resistance in operation with cell-containing fermentation broths.