• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2009

Pervaporation membrane for butanol separation was prepared by hybrid process. Plasma treatment of commercial poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane was attempted and combination of plasma treatment and PDMS solution coating on polysulfone, poly(ether imide) supports were also performed. Plasma treatment of PDMS membrane with hexane and silane group compounds was performed to increase the hydrophobicity of the surface, which enhanced the separation factor upto 12.5 at the expense of flux decrease down to $1.15kg/m^2{\cdot}hr$. Contact angle and relative sorption ratio were also related with hydrophobicity of the memrbane. Increase of PDMS prepolymer composition resulted in dense structure of coating layer with better separation factor. Effects of sequence of PDMS coating vs. plasma treatment were examined. It was found that plasma treatment with butanol and n-hexane plasma followed by PDMS coating showed better performance and vice versa for plasma treatment with hexamethyldisilane and hexamethyldisilazane.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.303-310
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• 2017

Pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) has attracted much attention as potential technology to reduce the overall energy consumption for reverse osmosis(RO) desalination. The RO/PRO hybrid process is considered as the most logical next step for future desalination. The PRO process aims to harness the osmotic energy difference of two aqueous solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane. By using the concentrated water(RO brine) discharged from existing RO plants, the PRO process can effectively exploit a greater salinity gradient to reduce the energy cost of processing concentrated water. However, in order to use RO brine as the draw solution, PRO membrane must have high water flux and enough mechanical strength to withstand the high operational pressure. This study investigates the development of a thin film composite PRO membrane and spiral wound module for high power density. Also, the influence of membrane backing layer on the overall power density was studied using the characteristic factors of PRO membranes. Finally, the performance test of an 8-inch spiral wound module was carried out under various operating conditions(i.e. hydraulic pressure, flow rate, temperature). As the flow rate and temperature increased under the same hydraulic pressure, the PRO performance increased due to the growth of water permeability coefficient and osmotic pressure. For a high performance PRO system, in order to optimize the operating conditions, it is highly recommended that the flow pressure be minimized while the flow rate is maintained at a high level.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2022

Membrane separation provides various advantages including cost effectiveness and high efficiency over traditional wastewater treatment methods such as flocculation and adsorption. However, the effectiveness of membrane separation greatly declines due to membrane fouling, where pollutants are accumulated on the membrane surface. Among different groups of membranes, ceramic membranes can provide good antifouling properties due to its hydrophilicity and chemical stability. In addition, composite membranes such as graphene oxide modified membranes can help prevent membrane fouling. Recently, hybrid photocatalytic membranes have been proposed as a solution to prevent membrane fouling and provide synergetic effects. Membrane separation can solve the disadvantages of photocatalytic oxidation such as low reutilization rate, while photocatalytic oxidation can help reduce membrane fouling.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.177-180
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• 2005

A series of inorganic-organic hybrid membranes were prepared with a systematic variation of titanium dioxide nano particles content. Their liquid uptake, methanol permeability and proton conductivity as a function of inorganic oxide content were investigated. The results obtained show that the inorganic oxide network decreases the proton conductivity and liquid uptake. It is also found that increase in inorganic oxide content leads to decrease of methanol permeability. In terms of the morphology, membranes are homogeneous and exhibit a good adhesion between inorganic domains and the polymer matrix. The properties of the composite membranes are compared with the standard nafion membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 2008

Proton conductive hybrid nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes comprising polystyrene-5-poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PHEMA), sulfosuccinic acid (SA) and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) were prepared by varying PWA concentrations. The PHEMA block was thermally crosslinked by SA via the esterification reaction between -OH of PHEMA and -COOH of SA. Upon the incorporation of PWA into the diblock copolymer, the symmetric stretching bands of the $SO_3^-$ group at $1187cm^{-1}$ shifted to a lower wavenumber at $1158cm^{-1}$, demonstrating that the PWA particles strongly interact with the sulfonic acid groups of SA. When the concentration of PWA was increased to 30wt%, the proton conductivity of the composite membrane at room temperature increased from 0.045 to 0.062 S/cm, presumably due to the intrinsic conductivity of the PWA particles and the enhanced acidity of the sulfonic acid in the membranes. The membrane containing 30wt% of PWA exhibited a proton conductivity of 0.126 S/cm at $100^{\circ}C$. Thermal stability of the composite membranes was also enhanced by introducing PWA nanoparticles.

• KIEE International Transactions on Electrophysics and Applications
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• v.5C no.4
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• pp.165-170
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• 2005

A series of inorganic-organic hybrid membranes were prepared with a systematic variation of titanium dioxide nanoparticle content. Their water uptake, methanol permeability and proton conductivity as a function of temperature were investigated. The results obtained show that the inorganic oxide network decreases the proton conductivity and water swelling. It is also found that increase in inorganic oxide content leads to decrease of methanol permeability. In terms of the morphology, membranes are homogeneous and exhibit good adhesion between inorganic domains and the polymer matrix. The properties of the composite membranes are compared with the standard nafion membrane.