• Membrane Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.218-229
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• 2004

We prepared monodispersed calcium alginate microspheres by controlling various conditions of emulsification procedure using a lab-scale batch type membrane emulsification system equipped with SPG (Shirasu porous glass) tubular membranes. We determined the effects of process parameters of membrane emulsification (ratio of dispersed phase to continuous phase, alginate concentration, emulsifier concentration, type and concentration of stabilizer, transmembrane pressure, concentration of crosslinking agent, stirring speed and membrane pore size) on the mean size and size distribution of alginate microspheres. The increase of the ratio of dispersed phase to continuous phase, transmembrane pressure and alginate concentration led to the increase in the mean size of alginate microspheres. On the contrary, the increase in emulsifier concentration, stirring speed of the continuous phase and concentration of the crosslinking agent caused the reduction of the mean size of microspheres. Through controlling these parameters, monodisperse alginate microspheres with about $6{\mu}{\textrm{m}}$ of the mean size and 1.1 of the size distribution value were finally prepared in case of the using SPC membrane with the pore size of $2.9{\mu}{\textrm{m}}$.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.386-392
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• 2014

Two commercial membranes (porous membrane and cation exchange membrane) were evaluated as a separator in the Zn-Br redox-flow battery (ZBRFB). The performance properties of ZBRFB were test in the current density of $20mA/cm^2$. The electromotive forces (OCV at SOC 100%) of ZBRFB using SF-600 (porous membrane) and Nafion 117 (cation exchange membrane) were 1.87 V and 1.93 V, respectively. The cycle performance of ZBRFB using each membrane was evaluated during 7 cycles. The performance of ZBRFB using SF-600 membrane was 89.76%, 83.46% and 74.88% for average current efficiency, average voltage efficiency and average energy efficiency, respectively. The performance of ZBRFB using Nafion117 membrane was 97.7%, 76.33% and 74.56% for average current efficiency, average voltage efficiency and average energy efficiency, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.95-101
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• 2007

The synthesis of NaA zeolite membrane on a porous alumina support from clear solution by using hydrothermal reaction was investigated. Effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and seeding for transformation of zeolite A membrane and powder which are produced in the reactor were monitored through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The transformation process of producing Zeolite A membrane starts from the formation of the compact and continuous membrane on the surface of porous support from clear solution. The large Zeolite A poly-crystal was then farmed through the dissolution process. Finally, the process was advanced from sodalite to amorphous. In case of powder, sodalite is formed in the early stage of reaction because of surrounding space difference between membrane and powder crystal. Discrete surrounding space of powder crystal makes easy to transform to sodalite. From Zeolite A to amorphous through transformed product was rapidly advanced at high temperature while the membrane with somewhat low coverage was obtained at low temperature. A compact and continuous zeolite A membrane was synthesized at $120^{\circ}C$ in 12-hour period.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.333-342
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• 2021

A flexible electrochromic device (ECD) is a promising technology that is expected to be applied in various fields such as smart windows. Polymer electrolyte is an important component that determines the bleaching-coloration performance and physical stability of flexible ECDs. In this study, a pore-filled polymer electrolyte membrane (PFPEM) with excellent dimensional stability was developed to effectively fabricate flexible ECDs and improve durability. Polyvinyl acetate, which has excellent adhesion, and polyethylene glycol, which can improve ionic conductivity, were filled in the pores of a porous substrate made of polyethylene, which is inexpensive and has excellent physical and chemical stability. The optimal lithium salt (LiTFSI) content of the prepared PFPEM was determined at about 27 wt%, and it was confirmed to possess excellent dimensional stability, adhesive strength, and ion conductivity close to that of conventional polymer electrolytes. Although the visible light transmittance was lowered by the use of the porous substrate, it was expected to act as an advantage in the colored state.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2022

Membrane distillation (MD) has emerged as a sustainable desalination technology to solve the water and energy problems faced by the modern society. In particular, the surface wetting properties of the membrane have been recognized as a key parameter to determine the performance of the MD system. In this study, a novel surface modification technique was developed to induce a Janus-type hydrophilic/hydrophobic layer on the membrane surface. The hydrophilic layer was created on a porous PVDF membrane by vapor phase polymerization of the pyrrole monomer, forming a thin coating of polypyrrole on the membrane walls. A rigid polymeric coating layer was created without compromising the membrane porosity. The hydrophilic coating was then followed by the in-situ growth of siloxane nanoparticles, where the condensation of organosilane provided quick loading of hydrophobic layers on the membrane surface. The composite layers of dual coatings allowed systematic control of the surface wettability of porous membranes. By the virtue of the photothermal property of the hydrophilic polypyrrole layer, the desalination performance of the coated membrane was tested in a solar MD system. The wetting properties of the dual-layer were further evaluated in a direct-contact MD module, exploring the potential of the Janus membrane structure for effective and low-energy desalination.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.121-127
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• 2010

This study is to optimize the enzyme(lipase) activity for biodiesel production. The ion-exchanged non-woven fabrics(EtA, DEA-EtA non-woven fabric) containing ethanolamine, diethylamine groups are used by radiation induced grafted polymerization onto a non-woven fabric for more effective immobilization of lipase. Since the porous hollow fiber membranes are showed the low throughputibehe non-woven fabric membranes are used for biodiesel production. The physical charateristics of enzyme immobilized and the enzyme activity to EtA and DEA-EtA non-woven fabrics are studied. The EtA non-woven fabrics are quite similar to DEA-EtA non-woven fabric for the amount of enzyme immobilized(EtA non-woven fabric:15.69 mg/g, DEA-EtA non-woven fabric:14.45 mg/g) but DEA-EtA non-woven fabrics have shown the lower permeabiliquite the organic solvent than the EtA non-woven fabrics(EtA non-woven fabric:$3.50mol/h{\cdot}kg$, DEA-EtA non-woven fabric:$0.38mol/h{\cdot}kg$). Optimum characteristics of ehe non-woven fabric membranes and the limilaractivity are also investigated for the effective biodiesel production.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2018

In this work, the morphology of polyvinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-co-HFP) membranes were systemically investigated using phase inversion technique, to target membrane contactor applications. As the presence of macrovoids degrade the mechanical integrity of the membranes and jeopardize the long-term stability of membrane contactor processes (e.g. wetting), a wide range of dope compositions and casting conditions was studied to eliminate the undesired macrovoids. The type of solvent had significant effect on the membrane morphology, and the observed morphology were correlated to the physical properties of the solvent and solvent-polymer interactions. In addition, to fabricate macrovoid-free structure, the effects of different coagulation temperatures, inclusion of additives, and addition of nonsolvents were investigated. Due to the slow crystallization rate of P(VDF-co-HFP) polymer, it was found that obtaining porous membrane without macrovoids is difficult using only nonsolvent-induced phase separation method (NIPS). However, combined other phase inversion methods such as evaporation-induced phase separation (EIPS) and vapor-induced phase separation (VIPS), the desired membrane morphology can be obtained without any macrovoids.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 2015

The PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer were synthesized from the PTMSP[poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne)] and the PDMS[poly(dimethylsiloxane)] and then the PTMSP/PDMS-borosilicate composite membranes were prepared by adding the porous borosilicates to the PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer. The number-average molecular weight (${\bar{M}}_n$) and the weight-average molecular weight (${\bar{M}}_w$) of PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer were 460,000 and 570,000 respectively, and glass transition temperature ($T_g$) of PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer appeared at $33.53^{\circ}C$ according to DSC analysis. According to the TGA measurements, the addition of borosilicate to the PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer leaded the decreased weight loss and the completed weight loss temperature went down. SEM observation showed that borosilicate was dispersed in the PTMSP/PDMS-borosilicate composite membranes with the size of $1{\sim}5{\mu}m$. Gas permeation experiment indicated that the addition of borosilicate to PTMSP/PDMS graft copolymer resulted in the increase in free volume, cavity and porosity resulting in the gradual shift of the mechanism of the gas permeation from solution diffusion to molecular sieving surface diffusion, and Knudsen diffusion. Consequently, the permeability of $H_2$ and $N_2$ increased and selectivity ($H_2/N_2$) decreased as the contents of borosilicate increased.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.228-241
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• 2020

Separators, which produces physical layer between a cathode and anode, are getting enormous attention as the quality of the separator determines the performance of lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Porous membranes based on polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are generally utilized as the separator of LIBs because of their high electrochemical stability and suitable mechanical strength. However, low thermal resistance and wettability of PE and PP membranes limited the potential of LIBs. Operating at the temperature exceeding the melting point of membranes, the separators change their structures which lead to short circuit of LIBs. Low wettability of the separators corresponds to low ionic conductivity which increases the cell resistance. To overcome these weaknesses of PE and PP separators, different types of separator were prepared by co-electrospinning, applying coating layer, forming core shell around membrane, and papermaking method. The synthesized separator greatly enhanced the heat resistance and wettability of separator and mechanical properties like flexibility and tensile strength. In this review different type of polymer membrane used as separator in lithium ion battery are discussed.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.543-549
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• 2004

Chitosan has been widely researched as bone substitution materials and membranes in orthopedic/periodontal applications. Chitosan nanofiber membrane was fabricated by chitosan nanofiber using electrospinning technique. The structure of the membrane is nonwoven, three-dimensional, porous, and nanoscale fiber-based matrix. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of chitosan nanofiber membrane and to evaluate its capacity of bone regeneration in rabbit calvarial defect. Ten mm diameter round cranial defects were made and covered by 2 kinds of membranes (Gore-Tex membrane, chitosan nanofiber membrane) in rabbits. Animals were sacrificed at 4 weeks after surgery. Decalcified specimens were prepared and observed by microscope. Chitosan nanofiber membrane maintained its shape and space at 4 weeks. No inflammatory cells were seen on the surface of the membrane. In calvarial defects, new bone bridges were formed at all defect areas and fused to original old bone. No distortion and resorption was observed in the grafted chitosan nanofiber membrane. However bone bridge formation and new bone formation at the center of the defect could not be seen in Gore-Tex membranes. It is concluded that the novel membrane made of chitosan nanofiber by electrospinning technique may be used as a possible tool for guided bone regeneration.