Characterization of microporous membranes for use in membrane contactors

Methods of selecting applicable membranes for use in membrane contactors for flue gas desulfurization are proposed in this paper. The mass transfer mechanism for SO₂ diffusion through gas filled pores is explored by simple measurements in order to identify suitable membrane structures for use in contactors for flue gas cleaning. It is attempted to correlate the experimentally determined membrane mass transfer coefficient to intrinsic physical properties of the membrane by applying theoretical and empirical correlations for the porosity-tortuosity relationship of the porous structure. Thereby limiting fluxes can be predicted with good accuracy from data quoted in the manufactures catalogue.     

Transmission and fractionation of micro-sized particle suspensions

In processes aimed at the fractionation of a multi-component feed stream, transmission of particles through the membrane is at least as important as retention of larger particles. In this paper, we describe the mechanisms of transmission of mono-disperse latex particles through a polymer membrane. The effects of process parameters, such as transmembrane pressure, cross flow velocity and feed concentration were investigated. In dead end filtration mode, we found that, depending on the transmembrane pressure, four particle transmission regimes could be distinguished.

Particle deposition on polymer membranes and polymer microsieves was investigated in-line with confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). It was observed that with the polymer membrane random depth deposition took place, while the microsieve exhibited in-pore fouling.

In addition, bi-disperse particle suspensions were fractionated with dead end and cross flow membrane filtration, and various effects were charted. Based on the phenomena observed, it is concluded that the design of a fractionation process starts with defining a stable transmission regime for small particles, and subsequently choosing the process conditions for minimal deposition of the larger particles.     

Conductance behavior of electrolytes in 1,3-dimethylethyleneurea and 1,3-dimethylpropyleneurea at 25°C

1,3-Dimethylethyleneurea (DMEU) and 1,3-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU) were investigated as electrolytic media for a number of alkali metal and triisoamylbutylammonium salts via conductivity measurements over a concentration range of 1–100×10^–4 M at 25°C. The data were analyzed by the Fuoss-Shedlovsky, Fuoss-Onsager, and expanded Pitts equations. The limiting equivalent conductivities were about 1.5 times greater in DMEU than in DMPU, which is exactly the ratio of the viscosities. From the Fuoss-Onsager analysis, all salts studied were found to be essentially unassociated in both solvents. From the expanded Pitts equation the extent of association was small, but within a salt series the equation indicated that association decreased in the order iodides, thiocyanates > perchlorate > tetraphenylborates. Neither solvent differentiated between sodium and potassium ion mobilities, indicating a type of solvation behavior different from that in acyclic urea solvents such as tetramethyl- and tetraethylurea.     

Long-term acid resistance and selectivity of NF membranes in very acidic conditions

The aim of the study was to test commercial and experimental NF membranes for their separation efficiency and acid resistance in a long-term filtration experiment. Several NF membranes (NF 270, Desal-5 DK, Desal KH, BPT-NF-1 and BPT-NF-2) were tested for their separation efficiency and stability when a solution containing 25 g/L CuSO₄ and 8 wt.% H₂SO₄ was continuously filtered at 40 °C for 2 months. Filtration experiments were carried out with a new five-cell flat-sheet laboratory apparatus. Commercial NF membranes showed good selectivity, retaining most of the copper sulphate and letting most of the sulphuric acid pass into the permeate. However, only the membranes designed to be acid resistant (Desal KH and BPT-NF-2) maintained their separation efficiency during the 2 months of separation. The Desal KH membrane gave better copper retention values (92–95%) than the BPT-NF-2 (60–88%), but the overall selectivity was best with the BPT-NF-2 membrane due to its good sulphuric acid permeation.     

Fluctuation-magnification of non-equilibrium membranes near a wall

Membranes in thermal equilibrium are well known to exhibit Brownian motion type shape fluctuations. Membranes containing active force centers -- such as chemically active membrane proteins -- suffer additional non-equilibrium shape fluctuations due to the activity of these force centers. We demonstrate, using scaling arguments, that non-equilibrium shape fluctuations are in general greatly amplified by the presence of a nearby wall or membrane due to the absence of a fluctuation-dissipation theorem. For adhesive membranes, this fluctuation magnification effect may facilitate the establishment of bonding. For non-adhesive membranes, fluctuation magnification produces a long-range repulsive pressure which can exceed the well known Helfrich repulsion due to purely thermal fluctuations. Received: 1 September 1997 / Accepted: 3 December 1997     

HPLC法测定醋酸纤维素膜材料界面参数

以醋酸纤维素(CA-398)膜材料为填料,用HPLC法测定无机溶质(如氯化钠,硫酸镁)和多官能团的有机溶质(如糖等)的保留体积V_R’,平衡分配系数K_A’。由HPLC实验数据来确定聚合物膜材料界面参数。     

A conductance investigation of HCl in aqueous solutions of tetrahydrofuran,dimethoxyethane and dioxane

Conductance of dilute solutions of HCl in water-tetrahydrofuran (THF), water-dioxane and water-dimethoxyethane (DME) were measured and the data processed using the Justice-Ebeling equation to evaluate the limiting conductance _O, the association constant K_A and the apparent distance of closest approach a'. The Friedman-Rasaiah Gurney cosphere overlap term d_+–/kT was calculated from a' values and illustrates the different solvation pattern of dioxane compared to that found for THF and DME. It would appear that dioxane can solvate cations more strongly due to its ability to form a boat configuration around a cation. The association constants are reasonably reproduced by the Bjerrum equation using realistic molecular dimensions of the ions involved for the distance of closest approach. The limiting conductance in the mixtures illustrates clearly the different mechanism for proton conductance compared to that for the cesium ion. The dielectric constants, viscosities and densities of the solvent mixtures were measured and are reported. The lowest dielectric constant for each type of solvent mixture was about 10.     

Density,conductance, transference numbers,and diffusion measurements in concentrated solutions of nickel chloride at 25°C

The Hittorf technique for measuring transference numbers has been modified to produce precise data in concentrated aqueous electrolyte solutions. Density, molar conductance, transference number, tracer-diffusion, and mutual diffusion data are reported for aqueous NiCl₂ solutions up to 4M concentration at 25°C.Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University on leave from the School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.     

Response behavior of sodium-selective electrodes modified by surface attachment of the anticoagulant polysaccharides heparin and chondroitin sulfate

Two different polysaccharides with anticoagulant activities, heparin and chondroitin sulfate, were used to modify the surface of sodium-selective electrodes based on asymmetric cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes. The membranes were formulated with sodium ionophore X, anionic additive, and o-nitrophenyl octyl ether. The response behavior of the surface-modified sodium electrodes was compared with that of control CTA, as well as poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-based sodium-selective electrodes. It was found that the selectivity coefficients obtained with the surface modified CTA membrane electrodes were slightly higher than those of the control, but in the case of heparin-modified electrodes they still met the requirements for analysis of sodium in physiological fluids within an error of <1%; the corresponding error for chondroitin sulfate-modified electrodes was also <1% except for the case of potassium ion in which the error was 1.3%. Likewise, it was found that other response characteristics, such as detection limit, linear range, slope of the response plot, selectivity pattern, and response time were comparable in both the control and the polysaccharide-modified electrodes. Therefore, the surface modification does not significantly alter the response behavior of the sensors.     

Free-flow isoelectric focusing of proteins remaining in cell fragments following sonication of thyroid carcinoma cells

The method of preparing protein mixtures for electrophoretic analysis of membrane-associated cell proteins was improved. By sonication, about one-half of the proteins of thyroid cells were released into the supernatant, while the other half preferentially comprising membrane proteins still remained in cell fragments, which could be sedimented by centrifugation. After sonication, even those proteins which remained in cell fragments, could completely be dissolved by free-flow isoelectric focusing media. They migrated through the free-flow electrophoresis chamber without forming precipitates. Because of these improvements, it was possible to show that the two thyroid cancer cell lines ML-1 and ONCO-DG1 express cytokeratin 8 at similar rates, but cytokeratins 7 and 18 differently. In addition, the presence of inorganic pyrophosphatase, tubulin-beta-5, and tubulin-beta-1 chains in human thyroid cells was proved for the first time.