Effective pore size

A special use for meltblown olefin fiber is in filtration media such as surgical masks and industrial filters (78). The high surface area of these ultrafine filament fibers permits preparation of nonwoven filters with effective pore sizes as small as 0.5 p.m. 

Shifts in the SEC fractionation range are not new. It has been known for decades that adding chaotropes to mobile phases causes proteins to elute as if they were much larger molecules. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (9) and guanidinium hydrochloride (Gd.HCl) (9-12) have been used for this purpose. It has not been clearly determined in every case if these shifts reflect effects of the chaotropes on the solutes or on the stationary phase. Proteins are denatured by chaotropes the loss of tertiary structure increases their hydrodynamic radius. However, a similar shift in elution times has been observed with SEC of peptides in 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TEA) (13-15) or 0.1 M formic acid (16), even if they were too small to have significant tertiary structure. Speculation as to the cause involved solvation effects that decreased the effective pore size of the... 

In this process good hydrodynamics on the membrane surface are required to scour away the accumulated solids and prevent the membrane being blinded. This cannot be totally effective, and in practice the nominal membrane cut-off is often masked by the tendency of particulates to form a thin layer on the membrane surface whose effective pore size may be smaller. 

Once in an operational battery, the separator should be physically and chemically stable to the electrochemical environment inside the cell. The separator should prevent migration of particles between electrodes, so the effective pore size should be less than 1pm. Typically, a Li-ion battery might be used at a C rate, which corresponds to 1-3 mAcm2, depending on electrode area the electrical resistivity of the separator should not limit battery performance under any conditions. 

EFFECTIVE PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTION FOR COLUMN PACKINGS DETERMINED BV SIZE-EXCLUSION OtROMATOGRAPHY... 

This model (known as the SDR model) uses the log mean relaxation of 100% brine saturated rock as the estimator of the effective pore size [32]. This limits the method to rocks in the absence of hydrocarbons, which models permeability to be proportional to the porosity to the fourth power and log mean T2 to the second power, Eq. (3.6.6). Variations of this method use different exponents or the formation resistivity factor rather than porosity [2] ... 

Cross-flow filtration systems utilize high liquid axial velocities to generate shear at the liquid-membrane interface. Shear is necessary to maintain acceptable permeate fluxes, especially with concentrated catalyst slurries. The degree of catalyst deposition on the filter membrane or membrane fouling is a function of the shear stress at the surface and particle convection with the permeate flow.16 Membrane surface fouling also depends on many application-specific variables, such as particle size in the retentate, viscosity of the permeate, axial velocity, and the transmembrane pressure. All of these variables can influence the degree of deposition of particles within the filter membrane, and thus decrease the effective pore size of the membrane. 

Although SPMDs are simple in design, the mechanisms governing their performance as passive samplers of HOCs can be quite complex (see Chapter 3). The underlying principle of molecular-size discrimination in the uptake and loss of chemicals by SPMDs is shown in Eigure 2.1. The sizes of the molecules shown in the illustration are scaled to the postulated 10 A diameter of the transient pores in the membrane. Temperature and the presence of plasticizers/solvent will affect the effective pore sizes. 

Membranes with extremely small pores ( < 2.5 nm diameter) can be made by pyrolysis of polymeric precursors or by modification methods listed above. Molecular sieve carbon or silica membranes with pore diameters of 1 nm have been made by controlled pyrolysis of certain thermoset polymers (e.g. Koresh, Jacob and Soffer 1983) or silicone rubbers (Lee and Khang 1986), respectively. There is, however, very little information in the published literature. Molecular sieve dimensions can also be obtained by modifying the pore system of an already formed membrane structure. It has been claimed that zeolitic membranes can be prepared by reaction of alumina membranes with silica and alkali followed by hydrothermal treatment (Suzuki 1987). Very small pores are also obtained by hydrolysis of organometallic silicium compounds in alumina membranes followed by heat treatment (Uhlhom, Keizer and Burggraaf 1989). Finally, oxides or metals can be precipitated or adsorbed from solutions or by gas phase deposition within the pores of an already formed membrane to modify the chemical nature of the membrane or to decrease the effective pore size. In the last case a high concentration of the precipitated material in the pore system is necessary. The above-mentioned methods have been reported very recently (1987-1989) and the results are not yet substantiated very well. 

To obtain a further decrease of the effective pore size... 

There are many different zeolite structures but only a few have been studied extensively for membrane applications. Table 10.1 lists some of these structures and their basic properties. One of the most critical selection criterion when choosing a zeolite for a particular application is the pore size exhibited by the material. Figure 10.1 compares the effective pore size of the different zeolitic materials with various molecule kinetic diameters. Because the pores of zeolites are not perfectly circular each zeolite type is represented by a shaded area that indicates the range of molecules that may stiU enter the pore network, even if they diffuse with difficulty. By far the most common membrane material studied is MFI-type zeolite (ZSM-5, Al-free siUcahte-l) due to ease of preparation, control of microstructure and versatility of applications [7]. 

A first attempt to calculate the effective pore size within the polymer from the substrate selectivity has not been oversuccessful, since calculated pore sizes of about 7 A were obtained in polymers with measured pore sizes in the region of 150 to 200 A. Although, of course, the... 

The temperature dependence of the dynamic fluctuations which contribute to the effective pore size may be estimated by means of mode coupling theory, which views a gel as consisting of N pores of diameter t, over which the density fluctuations are correlated [4, 20, 21]. 

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