Aromatic Polyimide Membranes with -Butyl and Carboxylic Side Groups for Gas Separation Applications-Covalent Crosslinking Study.

A set of aromatic copolyimides was obtained by reaction of 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), and mixtures of the diamines 1,4-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)-2,5-di--butylbenzene (CFTBAPB) and 3,5-diamino benzoic acid (DABA). These polymers were characterized and compared with the homopolymer derived from 6FDA and CFTBAPB. All copolyimides showed high molecular weight values and good mechanical properties.

Blends of a Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity and Partially Sulfonated Polyphenylenesulfone for Gas Separation.

Polyphenylenesulfone (PPSU) and sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (sPPSU) are widely used for liquid separations in the medical and food industries. However, their potential applications for gas separation have not been studied extensively owing to their low intrinsic gas permeability. We report here for the first time that blending with sPPSU can significantly improve the gas separation performance of highly permeable polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), specifically PIM-1, because of the strong molecular interactions of the sulfonic acid groups of sPPSU with CO2 and O2 .

Experiments and Modeling of Boric Acid Permeation through Double-Skinned Forward Osmosis Membranes.

Boron removal is one of the great challenges in modern wastewater treatment, owing to the unique small size and fast diffusion rate of neutral boric acid molecules. As forward osmosis (FO) membranes with a single selective layer are insufficient to reject boron, double-skinned FO membranes with boron rejection up to 83.9% were specially designed for boron permeation studies.

Combination of forward osmosis (FO) process with coagulation/flocculation (CF) for potential treatment of textile wastewater.

A novel combination of forward osmosis (FO) process with coagulation/flocculation (CF) (FO-CF) has been experimentally conceived for the treatment and reuse of textile wastewater. FO is employed to spontaneously recover water from the wastewater via osmosis and thus effectively reduces its volume with a dramatically enhanced dye concentration. CF is then applied to precipitate and remove dyes from the FO concentrated stream with much improved efficiency and reduced chemical dosage.

Removal of organic micro-pollutants (phenol, aniline and nitrobenzene) via forward osmosis (FO) process: Evaluation of FO as an alternative method to reverse osmosis (RO).

In this study, we have explored and compared the effectiveness of using (1) lab-fabricated forward osmosis (FO) membranes under both FO and reverse osmosis (RO) modes and (2) commercially available RO membranes under the RO mode for the removal of organic micro-pollutants. The lab-fabricated FO membranes are thin film composite (TFC) membranes consisting of a polyamide layer and a porous substrate cast from three different materials; namely, Matrimid, polyethersulfone (PESU) and sulfonated polyphenylene sulfone (sPPSU). The results show that the FO mode is superior to the RO mode in the removal of phenol, aniline and nitrobenzene from wastewater.

Correlation of Gas Permeability in a Metal-Organic Framework MIL-101(Cr)-Polysulfone Mixed-Matrix Membrane with Free Volume Measurements by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS).

Hydrothermally stable particles of the metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr) were incorporated into a polysulfone (PSF) matrix to produce mixed-matrix or composite membranes with excellent dispersion of MIL-101 particles and good adhesion within the polymer matrix. Pure gas (O2, N2, CO2 and CH4) permeation tests showed a significant increase of gas permeabilities of the mixed-matrix membranes without any loss in selectivity. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) indicated that the increased gas permeability is due to the free volume in the PSF polymer and the added large free volume inside the MIL-101 particles.

Metal-organic frameworks in mixed-matrix membranes for gas separation.

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as additives (fillers) exhibit enhanced gas permeabilities and possibly also selectivities when compared to the pure polymer. Polyimides (Matrimid®) and polysulfones are popular polymer matrices for MOF fillers. Presently investigated MOFs for MMMs include [Cu(SiF(6))(4,4'-BIPY)(2)], [Cu(3)(BTC)(2)(H(2)O)(3)] (HKUST-1, Cu-BTC), [Cu(BDC)(DMF)], [Zn(4)O(BDC)(3)] (MOF-5), [Zn(2-methylimidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-8), [Zn(purinate)(2)] (ZIF-20), [Zn(2-carboxyaldehyde imidazolate)(2)] (ZIF-90), Mn(HCOO)(2), [Al(BDC)(μ-OH)] (MIL-53(Al)), [Al(NH(2)-BDC)(μ-OH)] (NH(2)-MIL-53(Al)) and [Cr(3)O(BDC)(3)(F,OH)(H(2)O)(2)] (MIL-101) (4,4'-BIPY = 4,4'-bipyridine, BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, BDC = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate, terephthalate).

Synthesis and characterization of a novel carboxyl group containing (co)polyimide with sulfur in the polymer backbone.

Soluble functional (co)polyimides are of great interest in the area of separation processes or optical applications, due to their excellent mechanical-, thermal- and optical properties, their superior processability and the ability to adapt their properties to a wide range of special applications. Therefore, two series of novel (co)polyimides containing fluorinated sulfur- and carboxylic acid groups consisting of 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)di(phthalic anhydride) (6FDA), 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid (DABA), 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfide (4,4'-SDA) and 3,3'-diaminodiphenylsulfone (3,3'-DDS) were synthesized in a two-step polycondensation reaction. The synthesized copolymers were characterized by using NMR, FTIR, GPC, and DSC.

Characterization of maleimide dimers in photo-cross-linked copolyimide films.

Copolyimide membranes are established materials for the separation of gaseous and liquid mixtures. Cross-linking of the polymer strands improves the physical and chemical stability. The photo-cross-linking of a 6FDA-ODA/6FDA-DABA 4 : 1 copolyimide membrane containing maleimide side groups as linker was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy.

A method for increasing permeability in O2/N2 separation with mixed-matrix membranes made of water-stable MIL-101 and polysulfone.

Water-stable MIL-101 microcrystals adhere well to polysulfone (PSF) and yield a very robust mixed-matrix MIL-101-PSF membrane for the O(2)/N(2) separation with a selectivity of 5-6 and an unsurpassed O(2) permeability increase by a factor of four to above 6 barrer for MIL-101 loadings of 24%.

Investigation of cross-linked and additive containing polymer materials for membranes with improved performance in pervaporation and gas separation.

Pervaporation and gas separation performances of polymer membranes can be improved by crosslinking or addition of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Crosslinked copolyimide membranes show higher plasticization resistance and no significant loss in selectivity compared to non-crosslinked membranes when exposed to mixtures of CO2/CH4 or toluene/cyclohexane. Covalently crosslinked membranes reveal better separation performances than ionically crosslinked systems.

Functionalized copolyimide membranes for the separation of gaseous and liquid mixtures.

Functionalized copolyimides continue to attract much attention as membrane materials because they can fulfill the demands for industrial applications. Thus not only good separation characteristics but also high temperature stability and chemical resistance are required. Furthermore, it is very important that membrane materials are resistant to plasticization since it has been shown that this phenomenon leads to a significant increase in permeability with a dramatic loss in selectivity.