Membrane controlled evaporation

There are a number of different techniques belonging to the category of phase inversion solvent evaporation, precipitation by controlled evaporation, precipitation from the vapor phase, thermal precipitation, and immersion precipitation (13,34—36). The most commercially available membranes are prepared by the last method. 

Solvent casting of polymer blends and controlled evaporation can also lead to SD. This technology has been used for industrial production of semi-permeable, selective membranes. The product characterized by co-continuity of phases also showed excellent mechanical performance. The type of solvent, concentration, temperature and method of casting are used to control the blend morphology and its final performance [Inoue et al., 1985, 1987 Nauman et al., 1986]. 

Feed components permeate through the membrane and evaporate as a result of the partial pressure on the permeate-side being lower than saturation vapor pressure. This driving force is generally controlled by applying a vacuum in the downstream (permeate) side of the membrane (Figure 21.12). As an alternative, an inert carrier gas such as water vapor or air can probably be used to lower the partial pressure of the permeated components. 

Since membrane-cell evaporators do not produce solids, forced-circulation evaporators are used less frequently. Rising-film and falling-film types appear in a number of plants. The rising-film evaporator depends on natural circulation of caustic from the bottom to the top of the tubes. Falling-film evaporators, as shown in Section 9.3.S.2, depend on pumps to lift caustic to the distribution system at the top. These units generally have better heat-transfer coefficients and less tendency to foul. Recirculated units in particular allow good control of flow to maintain a proper film on the tubes. This also permits the designer to provide more turndown capability. Liquid velocities are lower... 

Guliants et al. [6] have published a review on synthesis, structure, and applications of ordered meso- and macroporous films and membranes. Solvent evaporation and in situ growth were used to synthesize these films. Functionalization of the inner pores was important for optimization of film properties and applications (vide infra). Such fimetionaHzation is often carried out by silanizing internal pore sites such as OH groups. The control of organic chains is important in such systems such as in use of alkoxides by Innocenzi et al. [7]... 

The concept of phase inversion covers a range of different techniques such as solvent evaporation, precipitation by controlled evaporation, thermal precipitation, precipitation from the vapour phase and immersion precipiution. The majority of the phase inversion membranes are prepared by irrunersion precipitation. 

Precipitation by controlled evaporation was already used in the early years of this century. In this case the polymer is dissolved in a mixture of solvent and nonsolvent (the mixture acts as a solvent for the polymer). Since the solvent is more volatile than the nonsolvent, the composition shifts during evaporation to a higher nonsolvent and polj mer content. This leads eventually to the polymer precipitation leading to the formation of a skinned membrane. 

Electrospun nanohbrous wound dressing membrane shown to have controlled evaporative water loss, excellent oxygen permeability and fluid drainage ability, still inhibited microorganisms. 

Fibers spun by this method may be isotropic or asymmetric, with dense or porous walls, depending on the dope composition. An isotropic porous membrane results from spinning solutions at the point of incipient gelation. The dope mixture comprises a polymer, a solvent, and a nonsolvent, which are spun into an evaporative column. Because of the rapid evaporation of the solvent component, the spinning dope solidifies almost immediately upon emergence from the spinneret in contact with the gas phase. The amount of time between the solution s exit from the spinneret and its entrance into the coagulation bath has been found to be a critical variable. Asymmetric fibers result from an inherently more compatible solvent/nonsolvent composition, ie, a composition containing lower nonsolvent concentrations. The nature of the exterior skin (dense or porous) of the fiber is also controlled by the dope composition. 

The next three chapters (Chapters 9-11) focus on the deposition of nano-structured or microstructured films and entities. Porous oxide thin films are, for example, of great interest due to potential application of these films as low-K dielectrics and in sensors, selective membranes, and photovoltaic applications. One of the key challenges in this area is the problem of controlling, ordering, and combining pore structure over different length scales. Chapter 9 provides an introduction and discussion of evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA), a method that combines sol-gel synthesis with self-assembly and phase separation to produce films with a tailored pore structure. Chapter 10 describes how nanomaterials can be used as soluble precursors for the preparation of extended... 

In a previous section, the effect of plasma on PVA surface for pervaporation processes was also mentioned. In fact, plasma treatment is a surface-modification method to control the hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity balance of polymer materials in order to optimize their properties in various domains, such as adhesion, biocompatibility and membrane-separation techniques. Non-porous PVA membranes were prepared by the cast-evaporating method and covered with an allyl alcohol or acrylic acid plasma-polymerized layer the effect of plasma treatment on the increase of PVA membrane surface hydrophobicity was checked [37].The allyl alcohol plasma layer was weakly crosslinked, in contrast to the acrylic acid layer. The best results for the dehydration of ethanol were obtained using allyl alcohol treatment. The selectivity of treated membrane (H20 wt% in the pervaporate in the range 83-92 and a water selectivity, aH2o, of 250 at 25 °C) is higher than that of the non-treated one (aH2o = 19) as well as that of the acrylic acid treated membrane (aH2o = 22). 

Transition-metal nanopartides are of fundamental interest and technological importance because of their applications to catalysis [22,104-107]. Synthetic routes to metal nanopartides include evaporation and condensation, and chemical or electrochemical reduction of metal salts in the presence of stabilizers [104,105,108-110]. The purpose of the stabilizers, which include polymers, ligands, and surfactants, is to control particle size and prevent agglomeration. However, stabilizers also passivate cluster surfaces. For some applications, such as catalysis, it is desirable to prepare small, stable, but not-fully-passivated, particles so that substrates can access the encapsulated clusters. Another promising method for preparing clusters and colloids involves the use of templates, such as reverse micelles [111,112] and porous membranes [106,113,114]. However, even this approach results in at least partial passivation and mass transfer limitations unless the template is removed. Unfortunately, removal of the template may re-... 

All measurements have been made on homogeneous membranes of Eastman Kodak 398-3 cellulose acetate (6). The membranes were cast on glass plates and evaporated slowly to dryness from 2% w/v solution in pure acetone in a controlled atmosphere. The membranes were carefully outgassed under vacuum at 40°C before annealing in water for 30 minutes at 80°C during which they became detached from their casting plates. 

Membrane Preparation. Dried cellulose diacetate is dissolved in acetone in the weight ratio of 1 to 3 or 4. Gaseous ammonia is directed at room temperature over the solution surface in a rotary evaporator, the ammonia being readily absorbed by the polymer solution. Optimal ammonia concentration is 5 to 6 wt-%, a typical casting solution composition is cellulose diacetate/acetone/ ammonia 18.8/75.2/6.0 (solvent-to-polymer ratio 4). Casting is at room temperature. The precipitation bath is maintained at pH 4 through controlled addition of hydrochloric acid to compensate for the alkaline intake. 

Over 50 different pyridazin-3-ones were evaluated for biological activity in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) test system described previously (1). Briefly, seeds were germinated in 9-cm petri dishes on three layers of filter paper. Pyridazinones were dissolved in acetone and the filter papers were impregnated with 1 ml of acetone solution. After the soluent evaporated, 10 ml of distilled water were added to form an inhibitor concentration of 100 yM. Seeds were planted directly on the moist papers and germinated for 4 days in a controlled environment chamber on a 16-hr photoperiod with 27+lC day temperature and 21+lC night temperature. Light intensity from both fluorescent and incandescent bulbs was 28 klux at dish level. Lipids were extracted and recovered from 1 g of lyophilized shoot tissue, separated into membrane and non-membrane lipids, and analyzed by gas chromatography as described (1). 

The typical flavour load of a spray-dried product amounts to 18-25%. Besides the drying process, the flavour components are also encapsulated in the carrier matrix. After the slurry has been atomised , all volatile components, including water, which are located at the surface of the droplet are immediately evaporated. Thereby the remaining carrier substance forms a membrane around the droplet. This membrane is semipermeable and inhibits further evaporation of flavour molecules. This production step is controlled by diffusion mechanisms. Water as a molecule with a small molecular size can pass through the membrane, while the larger flavour molecules are not able to permeate it. 

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