Organic solvent nanofiltration applications

Han, S., Wong, H., and Livingston, A. (2005) Application of organic solvent nanofiltration to separation of ionic liquids and products from ionic liquid mediated reactions. Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng., 83 (A3), 309-316. 

FIGURE 5.10 Scheme of MAX-DEWAX process. (Reprinted from J. Membr. ScL, 286, White, L.S., Development of large-scale applications in organic solvent nanofiltration and pervaporation for chemical and refining processes, 26-35, Copyright (2006), with permission from Elsevier.)... 

Use of nanofiltration for non-aqueous separations is limited by membrane compatibility - a common material in composite nanofiltration membranes used for aqueous separations is polysulfone which possesses limited solvent resistance [134]. However, during the past two decades a number of materials have emerged with improved solvent resistance that have enabled a broad range of organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) applications. These materials include polydimethylsiloxane, polyphenylene oxide, polyacrylic acid, polyimides, polyurethanes, and a limited number of ceramics. Commercial products are offered by Koch Membrane Systems, W.R. Grace, SolSep, and Hermsdorfer Institut fur Technische Keramik (HITK) [135]. 

In addition, the ability to work in a wide range of operative conditions is another key aspect for the development of advanced membranes. Chemical stability is of particular importance when the membrane interfaces are exposed to aggressive solvents, such as in several organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) applications [21]. Resistance to fouling is also important in water filtration because this phenomenon can threaten the continuous operability of the membrane module [22]. In high-temperature (eg, precombustion CO2 capture from syngas [23] or polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells [24]) and high-pressure (eg, reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes for... 

Solvent resistant nanofiltration membranes are a much more recent evolution. Historically, the membranes developed by Membrane Products Kyriat Weizmann (Israel) - now Koch - (MPF 44, MPF 50, MPF 60) were the first nanofiltration membranes intended for application in organic solvents, although other membranes (e.g., PES and PA membranes) also have a limited solvent stability. The Koch membranes are based on PDMS, similarly to pervaporation membranes, although the level of crosslinking is quite different. 

Due to recent advances in membrane development, nanofiltration membranes are nowadays increasingly used for applications in organic solvents [27, 58]. This narrows the gap between pervaporation and nanofiltration. It is even possible that the requirements for membrane structures completely overlap for the two processes whereas membrane stability becomes more important for nanofiltration membranes, the performance of pervaporation membranes could be improved by using an optimized (thinner) structure for the top layers. It might even be possible to use the same membranes in both applications. At this moment it is not possible to define which membrane structure is necessary for nanofiltration or for pervaporation, and which membrane is expected to have a good performance in nanofiltration, in pervaporation or in both. Whereas pervaporation membranes are dense, nanofiltration membranes... 

A range of membrane processes are used to separate fine particles and colloids, macromolecules such as proteins, low-molecular-weight organics, and dissolved salts. These processes include the pressure-driven liquid-phase processes, microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO), and the thermal processes, pervaporation (PV) and membrane distillation (MD), all of which operate with solvent (usually water) transmission. Processes that are solute transport are electrodialysis (ED) and dialysis (D), as well as applications of PV where the trace species is transmitted. In all of these applications, the conditions in the liquid boundary layer have a strong influence on membrane performance. For example, for the pressure-driven processes, the separation of solutes takes place at the membrane surface where the solvent passes through the membrane and the retained solutes cause the local concentration to increase. Membrane performance is usually compromised by concentration polarization and fouling. This section discusses the process limitations caused by the concentration polarization and the strategies available to limit their impact. 

While reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration were being established in several applications, there was a lack of available membranes with cutoffs between 400 and 4000 g/mol. Increasing interest in NF membranes developed in the last decade. An extensive review on principles and applications of nanofiltration has been published recently [38]. Nanofiltration is important for water softening [39] and removal of organic contaminants. In the food industry, nanofiltration can be applied for concentration and demineralization of whey, concentration of sugar and juice. Nanofiltration also finds application in the pulp and paper industry, in the concentration of textile dye effluents and in landfill leachate treatment. The improvement of solvent stabihty of available NF membranes opens a wide range of potential applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry as weU as in metal and acid recovery. 

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