High Flux Polybenzimidazole Solvent Resistant Nanofiltration Membranes: Morphology Control and Performance†

doi:10.7503/cjcu20170618

Abstract

Abstract:

A kind of heterocyclic polymerpolybenzimidazole(PBI) membranes are very promising for solvent resistant nanofiltration due to their excellent mechanical stability, thermal stability and chemical stability. Even though they showed high selectivity, however, the permeance is relatively low. In this study, we aim to enhance the permeance of PBI membranes while keep their selectivity. PBI membrane with different microstructures were prepared by introducing polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) in cast solution. The results showed that with increasing content of PVP, the flux of membrane increases, while, the rejection on dyes keeps constant. When the mass ratio of PVP is 15%, the PBI showed retention of 99.18% on methylene blue, showing very good selectivity.

Key words: Polybenzimidazole, Polyvinylpyrrolidone, Solvent resistant nanofiltration membrane, Permeance performance

CLC Number:

O635

TrendMD:

ZHAO Caixiu, YANG Yi, LIU Yiting, JIANG Ying, YUAN Fang, WANG Rui, CHEN Dongju. High Flux Polybenzimidazole Solvent Resistant Nanofiltration Membranes: Morphology Control and Performance^†[J]. Chem. J. Chinese Universities, 2018, 39(4): 785.

Figures/Tables 14

Fig.1 Structure of PBI polymer

Table 1 Physical properties of the solvents

Solvent	Molar weight/ (g·mol^-1)	Molar volume/ (cm³·mol^-1)	Surface tension/ (mN·m^-1)	Viscosity/ (mPa·s)	Density/ (g·cm^-3)
IPA	60	76.92	21.7	1.96	0.785
Ethanol	46	58.68	22.3	1.074	0.790
THF	72	81.08	28.0	0.456	0.888
Acetone	58	73.40	23.3	0.306	0.791

Table 2 Properties of the solute

Component	Charge	Molar weight/ (g·mol^-1)	Molar volume/ (cm³·mol^-1)
Methylene blue(MB)	+	374	160
Bromothymol blue(BTB)	0	624.39	281
Rose bengal(RB)	-	1017	272.8

Fig.2 TG curve of PBI polymer

Table 3 Mechanical properties of the prepared membrane

Sample	Elasticity modulus/MPa	Elongation at break(%)	Tensile strength/MPa
15%PBI	130.54	16.00	6.74
15%PBI+10%PVP	115.87	17.17	6.52
15%PBI +20%PVP	103.06	12.11	5.75

Fig.3 Surface morphologies of PBI NF membranes(A)12%PBI; (B)12%PBI+5%PVP; (C)12%PBI+10%PVP; (D)12%PBI+15%PVP; (E)15%PBI; (F)15%PBI+5%PVP; (G)15%PBI+10%PVP; (H)15%PBI+15%PVP; (I)18%PBI; (J)18%PBI+5%PVP; (K)18%PBI+10%PVP; (L)18%PBI+15%PVP.

Fig.4 Cross-section morphologies of PBI NF membranes(A) 12%PBI; (B) 12%PBI+5%PVP; (C) 12%PBI+10%PVP; (D) 12%PBI+15%PVP;(E) 15%PBI; (F) 15%PBI+5%PVP; (G) 15%PBI+10%PVP; (H) 15%PBI+15%PVP;(I) 18%PBI; (J) 18%PBI+5%PVP; (K) 18%PBI+10%PVP; (L) 18%PBI+15%PVP.

Fig.5 FTIR spectra of PBI, PVP and PBI NF membranesa. PVP; b. 12%PBI; c. 12%PBI+5%PVP; d. 12%PBI+10%PVP; e. 12%PBI+15%PVP.

Fig.6 Permeability of different pure solvents through PBI NF membranes

Fig.7 Permeability of different pure solvents through PBI NF membranes with different compositions of casting solutions(A) a. 12%PBI; b. 12%PBI+5%PVP; c. 12%PBI+10%PVP; d. 12%PBI+15%PVP. (B) a. 15%PBI; b. 15%PBI+5%PVP; c. 15%PBI+10%PVP; d. 15%PBI+15%PVP. (C) a. 18%PBI; b. 18%PBI+5%PVP; c. 18%PBI+10%PVP; d. 18%PBI+15%PVP.

Fig.8 Separation performance of RB(A), BTB(B) and MB(C) through the PBI NF membranes(12%PBI) in IPA(a) and ethanol(b)

Fig.9 Permeability of RB(A), BTB(B) and MB(C) through the PBI NF membranes(12%PBI) in IPA(a) and ethanol(b)

Fig.10 Separation performance of RB(A), BTB(B) and MB(C) through the PBI NF membranes(15%PBI) in IPA(a) and ethanol(b)

Fig.11 Permeability of RB(A), BTB(B) and MB(C) through the PBI NF membranes(15%PBI) in IPA(a) and ethanol(b)

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