Mohd Ghazali Mohd Nawawi

Development of Novel NH4Y Zeolite‐Filled Chitosan Membranes for the Dehydration of Water‐Isopropanol Mixture Using Pervaporation

Abstract NH4Y zeolite‐filled chitosan membranes were developed for the separation of water‐isopropanol mixture using pervaporation process. The NH4Y zeolite‐filled chitosan membranes were prepared using a solution technique with the variation of NH4Y zeolite loading (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 wt.%). The membranes morphologies were studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the membranes mechanical strength were tested using the parameter of tensile strength and percent strain at maximum. The effects of NH4Y zeolite loading on the liquid sorption characteristics and pervaporation performance were also evaluated. The diffusion coefficient of water and isopropanol for the chitosan membranes at different NH4Y zeolite loading is estimated. The presence of NH4Y zeolite in the chitosan membranes caused non‐homogeneous dispersion of NH4Y zeolite crystals and membrane swelling due to its hydrophilic properties. However, the presence of NH4Y zeolite was able to improve both tensile strength and percent strain at maximum of chitosan membranes. The presence of NH4Y zeolite also increased the total permeation flux and separation factor simultaneously. The Pervaporation Separation Index shows that 0.2 wt.% of NH4Y zeolite‐filled membrane gave the optimum performance in the pervaporation process. The diffusion coefficient estimated proves that the membranes were highly water selective.

Membranes with Favorable Chemical Materials for Pervaporation Process: AReview

Among many purification processes, pervaporation is one of the promising technologies which is an indispensable component for chemical separations with low energy consumption, minimum contamination and ability to break up azeotropic mixtures. The key success of pervaporation process is dependent on the membrane features (chemical components and morphology). Application of membranes surveyed in three categories included organic solvent dehydration, removal of organics from solvent and separation of organic solvents. This article review discusses different types of pervaporation membranes from the perspective of membrane fabrication and materials in biofuel products.

Influence of Polystyrene on PDMS IPNs Blend Membrane Performance

In this work, a series of pervaporation blend membranes with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polystyrene (PS) were prepared by using the sequential interpenetrating polymer network (IPNs) technique with various amount of PS (10–70 wt.%). The blend IPN membranes were supported by Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) ultrafiltration membrane. Effect of PS contents in PDMS IPNs on crosslinked density, molecular weight, network-chain segment concentration, water swelling properties, and tensile properties were investigated. Results revealed that the degree of crosslink density and tensile strength of the PDMS IPNs blend membrane depending on wt.% of PS added and scan electron microscope image confirmed that the PDMS/PSt IPN membranes have continuous microphase structures. The synthesized IPNs blend membrane was used for ethanol recovery from aqueous solution by pervaporation, and exhibited enhanced separation performance compared with PDMS membranes. The maximum separation factor of IPNs blend membrane were obtained at 50°C, and the total flux increased exponentially along with the increase of temperature. The PDMS/PS membrane synthesized by 50 wt.% PS gave the best pervaporation performance with a selectivity (α) of 7.6, permeation rate of 214 g/m2 h with a 10 wt.% ethanol (EtOH) concentration at 60°C.

A Simple and Cost-Effective Method for Fabricating Chitosan-Filled Filter Media from Lignocellulosic Biomass

The newly developed non-woven filter media are composed of randomly oriented fibrous fibers from lignocellulosic biomass. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of incorporating chitosan solution in fibrous filter media made from lignocellulosic biomass. The wet lay-up method was adopted for filter media fabrication. Diluted acetic acid was used as medium to dissolve the chitosan powder. Chitosan solution was applied to the fiber using two different deposition techniques, namely, spray method and addition method. The tensile test demonstrated that the filter media using spray method outperformed a filter media made from by addition technique. From the FT-IR spectrum, when the chitosan was added to empty fruit bunches fibers, the absorption peaks at around 1642 cm-1 are clearly identified that showing the presence of amine group in the fibers. The changes observed in the spectra indicated the possible interaction of functional groups between chitosan and cellulose in the fibers. The newly developed non-woven filter media integrates the functions for both the deep filtration and mechanical screen, thus it will be an alternative medium in oily wastewater treatment industry.

Pervaporation of Ethyl Acetate-Water Mixture through Sago/PVA Blend Membranes Cross-Linked with Glutaraldehyde

Sago composite membrane possesses a microporous polysulfone substrate were prepared and tested for dehydration of ethyl acetate/water mixture. Sago composite membrane has been cross-linked successfully by glutaraldehyde. The membranes were characterized by Degree of swelling (DS) and scanning electron micrographs (SEM). Pervaporation of ethyl acetate –water mixture was conducted over a range of water concentration (1-4wt %) in feed solution at varied temperature from 30°C to 60°C. KeywordsSagostarch:Pervaporation;Ethylacetate;Polyvinylalcohol;CompositeMembrane;

Effect of Pre-Treatment of Lignocellulosic Fiber on Mechanical Properties of Chitosan-Filled Filter Media

The newly developed non-woven filter media are composed of randomly oriented fibrous fibers from empty fruit bunch fibers. The wet lay-up method was adopted for filter media fabrication. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of pre-treatment of lignocellulosic fibers on the mechanical properties of fibrous filter media. The study also aims to examine the effect of chitosan application as binder on the tensile strength of fibrous filter media from treated and untreated fibers. The fibers were treated with sodium hydroxide solution, diethyl ether, ethanol and hot water. The pre-treatment enhance the fibrous filter media properties, while filter media from untreated empty fruit bunch fibers showed lower mechanical properties. The changes in mechanical properties followed the order: alkali-treated > diethyl ether > ethanol > hot water > untreated empty fruit bunch fibers.

Bio‐composite Nonwoven Media Based on Chitosan and Empty Fruit Bunches for Wastewater Application

Fibrous filter media in the form of non-woven filters have been used extensively in water treatment as pre-filters or to support the medium that does the separation. Lignocellulosic such as empty fruit bunches have potential to be used as a low cost filter media as they represent unused resources, widely available and are environmentally friendly. Laboratory filtration tests were performed to investigate the potential application of empty fruit bunches that enriched with chitosan as a fiber filter media to remove suspended solids, oil and grease, and organics in terms of chemical oxygen demand from palm oil mill effluent. The present paper studies the effect of chitosan concentration on the filter media performance. Bench-scaled experiment results indicated that pre-treatment using the fiber filtration system removed up to 67.3% of total suspended solid, 65.1% of oil and grease and 46.1% of chemical oxygen demand. The results show that the lignocellulosic fiber filter could be a potential technology for primary wastewater treatment.