• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.331-337
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• 2006

In the present study we investigated the relationship between the morphology and mechanical properties of electrospun polysulfone (PSF)/polyurethane (PU) blend nonwovens, by using the electrospinning process to prepare three types of electrospun nonwovens: PSF, PU and PSF/PU blends. The viscosity, conductivity and surface tension of the polymer solutions, were measured by rheometer, electrical conductivity meter and tensiometer, respectively. The electrospun PSF/PU blend nonwovens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and with a universal testing machine. The SEM results revealed that the electrospun PSF nonwoven had a structure consisting of cross-bonding between fibers, whereas the electrospun PU nonwoven showed a typical, point-bonding structure. In the electrospun PSF/PU blend nonwovens, the exact nature of the point-bonding structure depended on the PU contents. The mechanical properties of the electrospun PSF/PU blend nonwoven were affected by the structure or the morphology. With increasing PU content, the mechanical behaviors, such as Young's modulus, yield stress, tensile strength and strain, of the electrospun PSF/PU blend nonwovens were by up to 80%.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2020

Former studies revealed that sepiolite thermally treated at high temperature have high adsorption capacity for phosphate. However, its micron size (75 ㎛) limits its application to water treatment. In this study, we synthesized sepiolite impregnated polysulfone (PSf) beads to separate it easily from an aqueous solution. PSf beads with different sepiolite ratios were synthesized and their efficiencies were compared. The PSf beads with 30% impregnated sepiolite (30SPL-PSf bead) possessed the optimum sepiolite ratio for phosphate removal. Kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic adsorption experiments were performed using the 30SPL-PSf bead. Equilibrium adsorption was achieved in 24 h, and the pseudo-first-order model was suitable for describing the phosphate adsorption at different reaction times. The Langmuir model was appropriate for describing the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead, and the maximum adsorption capacity of the 30SPL-PSf bead obtained from the model was 24.48 mg-PO₄/g. Enthalpy and entropy increased during the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead, and Gibb's free energy at 35 ℃ was negative. An increase in the solution pH from 3 to 11 induced a decrease in the phosphate adsorption amount from 27.30 mg-PO₄/g to 21.54 mg-PO₄/g. The competitive anion influenced the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead was in the order of NO₃^- > SO₄^2- > HCO_3^-. The phosphate breakthrough from the column packed with the 30SPL-PSf bead began after ~2000 min, reaching the influent concentration after ~8000 min. The adsorption amounts per unit mass of 30SPL-PSf and removal efficiency were 0.775 mg-PO₄/g and 61.6%, respectively. This study demonstrates the adequate performance of 30SPL-PSf beads as a filter for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.209-214
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• 2002

Miscibility of polysulfone (PSf) with various hydrophilic copolymers was explored. Among these blends, PSf gives homogeneous mixtures with poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-styrene) copolymers [P(VP-S)] when these copolymers contained VP from 68 to 88 wt%. Microporous membranes for the ultrafiltration process were prepared from PSf blends with P(VP-S) copolymers. The membranes prepared from the PSf/(VP-S) blends exhibited higher water flux than the membranes prepared from PSf irrespective of the VP content. The solute rejection examined with the membranes fabricated from the miscible blends was similar to that of PSf membrane. However, the solute rejection examined with the membranes fabricated from the immiscible blends was lower than that of PSf membranes.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.264-269
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• 2018

PSf/D2EHPA/TBP/CNTs beads were prepared by immobilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and two extractants, di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and tributyl phosphate (TBP) on polysulfone (PSf). The prepared PSf/D2EHPA/TBP/CNTs beads were characterized by SEM, TGA, and FTIR. The removal rate of Sr(II) by PSf/D2EHPA/TBP/CNTs beads was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum removal capacity of Sr(II) obtained from Langmuir isotherm was found to be 5.52 mg/g. The results showed that the removal efficiency of Sr(II) by PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads prepared in this study was significantly improved compared to that of using PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads without TBP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.417-418
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• 2010

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.854-860
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• 2017

PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads were prepared by immobilizing extractant di-(2-ethylhexyl)- phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and adsorbent carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on polysulfone (PSf), and the adsorption characteristics of Sr(II) on the beads were studied. The morphological characteristics of the prepared PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The equilibrium time for the removal of Sr(II) by PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads was 60 min. The experimental kinetic data followed pseudo-second-order model more than pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The maximum removal capacity of Sr(II) obtained from Langmuir isotherm was 4.75 mg/g. The removal efficiencies of Sr (II) by PSf/D2EHPA/CNTs beads were improved 2.5 times by adding the adsorbent CNTs more than by using only the extractant D2EHPA.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics S
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• v.36S no.2
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• pp.57-62
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• 1999

Estimation of the point spread function (PSF) is one of the main research topic of image processing, because it determines the performance of the auto-focusing system. In this paper, a new algorithm for PSF estimation is proposed, and its application to image restoration is also presented. The procedure for complete realization of the auto-focusing system consists of two steps: PSF estimation based on edge classification, and image restoration using the estimated PSF. More specifically, we divide imput image into multiple small image or block, estimate unit step response and average them on the blocks which contain edge, and estimate 2-dimensional isotropic PSF from the 1 dimensional step response. Finally we obtain in-focused image by using image restoration based on the estimated PSF.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2014

In this study, PSf-$Al(OH)_3$ beads were prepared by immobilizating aluminum hydroxide $Al(OH)_3$ with polysulfone (PSf). The removal experiments of the fluoride ions by PSf-$Al(OH)_3$ beads were conducted batchwise and the parameters such as pH, initial fluoride concentration, and coexisting ions were investigated. The maximum removal capacity obtained from Langmuir isotherm was 52.4 mg/g and the optimum pH region of fluoride ions was in the range of 4 to 10. The removal process of fluoride ions by PSf-$Al(OH)_3$ beads was found to be controlled by both external mass transfer at the earlier stage followed by internal diffusion at the later stage. The presence of coexisting anions such as $HCO_3{^-}$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NO_3{^-}$, and $Cl^-$ had a negative effect on removal of fluoride ions by PSf-$Al(OH)_3$ beads.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.877-887
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• 1996

The ideal membranes for membrane-covered oxygen probes system should be selectively permeable for oxygen and chemically inert, and have good mechanical strength. Polysulfone(PSf) was selected to develop the membrane for membrane-covered oxygen electrodes system. PSf membranes have properties such as good reproducibility, good mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and high heat resistance. PSf membranes were cast from polymer solution on the glass plate at constant temperature, and casting solvents used were tetrahydrofuran(THF), methylene chloride, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP). Tricresyl phosphate(TCP) as plasicizer was added to PSf to increase the softness of membrane. The permeation characteristics were observed for pure oxygen and nitrogen through pure PSf membranes by variable volume method and membrane-covered electrode system. The permeability coefficients of oxygen and nitrogen measured by variable volume method were slightly decreased with increasing of upstream pressure. The permeation properties of PSf membrane using methylene choride as casting solvent were not affected by the PSf amount of polymer solution. The permeability coefficients of oxygen and nitrogen for PSf membrane containing TCP were very slightly lower than those for pure PSf membrane, but ideal separation factors were slightly higher. The flexibility of PSf membrane containing 2wt% TCP was better than that of pure PSf membrane. It was expected that this increase in flexibility would solve the difficulty of fixing the membrane to the cathode. The membrane-covered oxygen probes system was composed of anode, cathode and electrolyte. The type of the anode was Ag/AgCl half-cell, that of cathode was Ag, and the electrolyte was 4N KCl solution. The result of sampled current voltametry for PSf membrane showed the plateu region at -0.3V~-1.0V. The correlation coefficient of oxygen partial pressure versus current for PSf membrane was relatively high, 0.99949. It was concluded that PSf membrane was the good candidate for the membrane-covered oxygen probes system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2020

In this study, a MWCNT(multi-wall carbon nanotube) was added to polysulfone(PSf) support layer to improve flux of TFC(thin film composite) RO(reverse osmosis) membrane. Two different kinds of MWCNT were used. Surfaces of some MWCNTs were modified hydrophilically through acid treatment, while those of other MWCNTs were modified through heat treatment to maintain their hydrophobicity. MWCNT/PSf support layer was prepared by adding PSf to the NMP mixed solvent containing 0.1 wt% MWCNTs using a phase inversion method. The surface porosity of the MWCNT/PSf support increased by 42~46% while its surface pore size being maintained. The TFC RO membrane made of MWCNT/PSf support layer showed a 20% flux increase while its salt rejection characteristics is sustained. In addition, the MWCNT/PSf support layer has better mechanical stability than the PSf support layer, there resulting in an increased resistance of flux reduction due to physical pressure.