• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.25-28
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• 2003

Low cost composite metallic membranes for the hydrogen separation and production have been prepared by using thin Pd-Ag foils reinforced by metallic (stainless steel and nickel) structures. Especially, “supported membranes” have been obtained by a diffusion welding procedure in which Pd-Ag thin foils have been joined with perforated metals (nickel) and expanded metals (stainless steel): in these membranes the thin palladium foil assures both the high hydrogen permeability and the perm-selectivity while the metallic support provides the mechanical strength. A second studied method of producing "laminated membranes" consists of coating non-noble metal sheets with very thin palladium layers by diffusion welding and cold-rolling. Palladium thin coatings over these metals reduce the activation energy of the hydrogen adsorption process and make them permeable to the hydrogen. In this case, the dense non-noble metal has been used as a support structure of the thin Pd-Ag layers coated over its surfaces: a proper thickness of the metal assures the mechanical strength, the absence of defects (cracks, micro-holes) and the complete hydrogen selectivity of the membrane. membrane.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1999

Pd-ceramic composite membranes and catalytic membrane reactors(CMR) have been studied for hydrogen and its isotopes (deuterium and tritium) purification and recovery in the fusion reactor fuel cycle. Particularly a closed-loop process has been studied for recovering tritium from tritiated water by means of a CMR in which the water gas shift reaction takes place. The development of the techniques for coating micro-porous ceramic tubes with Pd and Pd/Ag thin layers is described : P composite membranes have been produced by electroless deposition (Pd/Ag film of 10-20 $\mu$m) and rolling of thin metal sheets (Pd and Pd/Ag membranes of 50-70 $\mu$m). Experimental results of the electroless membranes have shown a not complete hydrogen selectivity because of the presence of some defects(micro-holes) in the metallic thin layer. Conversely the rolled thin Pd and Pd/ag membranes have separated hydrogen from the other gases with a complete selectivity giving rise to a slightly larger (about a factor 1.7) mass transfer resistance with respect to the electroless membranes. Experimental tests have confirmed the good performances of the rolled membranes in terms of chemical stability over several weeks of operation. Therefore these rolled membranes and CMR are adequate for applications in the fusion reactor fuel cycle as well as in the industrial processes where high pure hydrogen is required (i.e. hydrocarbon reforming for fuel cell)

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.223-227
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• 2001

In this paper, the authors present the fabrication of high-yield Si thin-membranes by electrochemical etch-stop in tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH): isopropyl alcohol (IPA):pyrazine solutions. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of n- and p-type Si in TMAH:IPA;pyrazine solutions were analysed, repsectively. Open circuit potential (OCP)and passivation potential (PP) of n- and p-type Si, respectively, were obtained and applied potential was selected between n- and p-type Si PPs. The electrochemical etch-stop method was applied to the fabrication of 801 micro-membranes with 20.0 $\mu\textrm{m}$ thickness on a 5" Si wafer. The average thickness of fabricated 801 micro-membranes on one wafer 20.03$\mu\textrm{m}$ and the standard deviation was ${\pm}$0.26$\mu\textrm{m}$. The Si surface of the etch-stopped micro-membranes was extremely flat with no noticeable taper or nonuniformity. The results indicate that use of the electrochemical etch-stop method for the etching of Si in TMAH:IPA;pyrazine solutions provides a powerful and versatile alternative process for fabricating high-yield Si micro-membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.28-40
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• 2002

The primary objective of this study is to elucidate the contribution of the electrostatic and molecula structural properties of an active layer of the thin film compsite (TFC) membranes to fouling tendency. The studies of surface morphology and surface charge were very effective in understanding fouling behaviors of the reverse osmosis (RO) membranes which were the thin film composite type of ployamide. Results of microscopic morphology analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface charge analyzed by electrokinetic analyzer (EKA) showed important factors affecting the fouling of RO membranes. The active layer of the composite membrane possessing realtively neutral streaming charge and less roughness provided a RO membrane with slowly decreasing flux.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.07a
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• pp.43-47
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• 1999

Pd-ceramic composite membranes and catalytic membrane reactors(CMR) have been studied for hydrogen purification and recovery in th fusion reactor fuel cycle. The development of techniques for coating microporous ceramic tubes with Pd and Pd/Ag layers is described: composite membranes have been produced by electroless deposition (Pd/Ag film of 10-20${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) and rolling of thin metal sheet (Pd and Pd/ Ag membranes of 50-70 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). Experimental results on electroless membranes showed that the metallic film presented some defects and the membranes had not complete hydrogen selectivity . Then the catalytic membrane reactors with electroless membranes can be applied for some industrial processes that do not require a complete separation of the hydrogen (i.e. in the dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons). The rolled thin Pd/Ag membranes separated the hydrogen from the other gas with a complete selectivity and exhibited a slightly larger (about a factor 1.7) mass transfer resistance with respect to the electroless membranes. Experimental tests confirmed the good performances in terms of durability.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.109-126
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• 2013

Surface modification by low-pressure ammonia ($NH_3$) plasma on commercial thin-film composite (TFC) membranes was investigated in this study. Surface hydrophilicity, total surface free energy, ion exchange capacity (IEC) and zeta (${\zeta}$)-potentials were determined for the TFC membranes. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the membrane surface chemistry were conducted by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. Results showed that the $NH_3$ plasma treatment increased the surface hydrophilicity, in particular at a plasma treatment time longer than 5 min at 50 W of plasma power. Total surface free energy was influenced by the basic polar components introduced by the $NH_3$ plasma, and isoelectric point (IEP) was shifted to higher pH region after the modification. A ten (10) min $NH_3$ plasma treatment at 90 W was found to be adequate for the TFC membrane modification, resulting in a membrane with better characteristics than the TFC membranes without the modification for water treatment. The thin-film chemistry (i.e., fully-aromatic and semi-aromatic nature in the interfacial polymerization) influenced the initial stage of plasma modification.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.35-41
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• 2002

Dense oxygen ionic conducting materials can be used for oxygen separation membranes at high temperatures. However, they show relatively low permeation flux because of their large resistances. To reduce resistances and improve the oxygen permeation flux, thin dense yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ)/Pd composite dual-phase membranes were fabricated by a new approach that combines the reservoir method and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A thin porous YSZ layer was coated on a porous alumina support by dip-coating the YSZ suspension. A continuous Pd phase was formed inside pores of the YSZ layer by the reservoir method. The residual pores of the YSZ/Pd layer were plugged with yttria/zirconia by CVD to ensure the gas tightness of the membranes. The oxygen permeation fluxes through these composite membrane were 2.0$\times$10$^{-8}$ mol/cm$^2$.s and 4.8$\times$10$^{-8}$ mol/cm$^2$.s at 105$0^{\circ}C$ when air and oxygen were used as the permeate gases, respectively. These oxygen permeation values are about 1 order of magnitude higher than those of pure YSZ membranes prepared under similar conditions.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2018

Incorporating nano-materials in thin-film composite (TFC) membranes has been considered to be an approach to achieve higher membrane performance in various water treatment processes. This study investigated the rejection efficiency of three target compounds, i.e., reserpine, norfloxacin and tetracycline hydrochloride, by TFC membranes with different graphene oxide proportions. Graphene oxide (GO) was incorporated into the polyamide active layer of a TFC membrane via an interfacial polymerization (IP) reaction. The TFC membranes were characterized with FTIR, FE-SEM, AFM; in addition, the water contact angle measurements as well as the permeation and separation performance were evaluated. The prepared GO-TFC membranes exhibited a much higher flux ($3.11{\pm}0.04L/m2{\cdot}h{\cdot}bar$) than the pristine TFC membranes ($2.12{\pm}0.05L/m2{\cdot}h{\cdot}bar$) without sacrificing their foulant rejection abilities. At the same time, the GO-modified membrane appeared to be less sensitive to pH changes than the pure TFC membrane. A significant improvement in the anti-fouling property of the membrane was observed, which was ascribed to the favorable change in the membrane's hydrophilicity, surface morphology and surface charge through the addition of an appropriate amount of GO. This study predominantly improved the understanding of the different PA/GO membranes and outlined improved industrial applications of such membranes in the future.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.309-321
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• 2015

We report in this study the synthesis of mixed matrix reverse osmosis membranes by interfacial polymerization (IP) of thin film nanocomposite (TFNC) on porous polysulfone supports (PS). This paper investigates the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) using the sol-gel processing technique and evaluates the performance of mixed matrix membranes reached by these aerogel NPs. Aqueous m-phenyl diamine (MPD) and organic trimesoyl chloride (TMC)-NPs mixture solutions were used in the IP process. The reaction of MPD and TMC at the interface of PS substrates resulted in the formation of the thin film composite (TFC). NPs of ZnO with a size of about 25 nm were used for the fabrication of the TFNC membranes. These membranes were characterized and evaluated in comparison with neat TFC ones. Their performances were evaluated based on the water permeability and salt rejection. Experimental results indicated that the NPs improved membrane performance under optimal concentration of NPs. By changing the content of the filler, better hydrophilicity was obtained; the contact angle was decreased from $74^{\circ}$ to $32^{\circ}$. Also, the permeate water flux was increased from 26 to 49 L/m2.h when the content of NPs is 0.1 (wt.%) with the maintaining of lower salt passage of 1%.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.204-210
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• 2013

Thin pore-filled cation and anion-exchange membranes (PFCEM and PFAEMs, $t_m=25-30{\mu}m$) were prepared using a porous polymeric substrate for efficient all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). The electrochemical and charge-discharge performances of the membranes have been systematically investigated and compared with those of commercially available ion-exchange membranes. The pore-filled membranes were shown to have higher permselectivity as well as lower electrical resistances than those of the commercial membranes. In addition, the VRBs employing the pore-filled membranes exhibited the respectable charge-discharge performances, showing the energy efficiencies (EE) of 82.4% and 84.9% for the PFCEM and PFAEM, respectively (cf. EE = 87.2% for Nafion 1135). The results demonstrated that the pore-filled ion-exchange membranes could be successfully used in VRBs as an efficient separator by replacing expensive Nafion membrane.