Abstract
Polybenzimidazole (PBI) is a material with excellent chemical resistance, and thermal and mechanical stabilities. However, significant drawbacks of PBI that prevent its use as a membrane for water purification applications include hydrophobicity and neutral surface charge at neutral pH values. Surface functionalization was investigated as a means to circumvent these drawbacks by modifying PBI membranes to increase hydrophilicity and surface charge. The modifying agents used for functionalization included: p-phenylene diamine, ethylene diamine, taurine, and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid). Functionalized asymmetric flat sheet PBI membranes were investigated in forward osmosis (FO) applications. The FO process involved semi-permeable flat sheet membranes with an ammonium bicarbonate draw solution and a sodium chloride feed solution. The functionalized membrane surfaces exhibit increased hydrophilicity, surface charge, and reduced pore sizes. Additionally, all membrane modifications show increased water flux and a reduction in sodium chloride transport.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 85-92 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Membrane Science |
Volume | 434 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2013 |
Keywords
- Functionalization
- Hydrophilicity
- Membrane separation
- Polybenzimidazole
- Surface charge
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Materials Science (all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Filtration and Separation