Development of new materials for membrane production

• Grant number: 19/23301-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2020
• End date: January 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Pessan
• Grantee: Luiz Antonio Pessan
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Based on the advantages of energy-saving, simple operation, easy maintenance and scaling up, Membrane technology is widely used in separation operation procedures. The membrane technology evolution is changing every day, from the initial development of the dense membrane to the asymmetric membrane, and even the advancement of the composite membrane, in order to achieve better separation performances. Composite membranes may be obtained by mixing organic and/or inorganic materials with a polymer solution to form the composite membranes. Thus, polymer membranes in flat and hollow fiber form will be produced by the phase inversion technique and dense films by solvent evaporation and extruder, with or without nanoparticles to change the morphology and membranes separation properties. The membranes will be characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), contact angle, mercury intrusion porosimetry techniques, atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic thermo-mechanical analysis (DMA), optical microscopy (MO), flow measurements and permeate analysis. The gas diffusion (O2 e CO2) across the membranes will be evaluated using equipment developed in DEMa/UFSCar or Oxtran and Permatran, as well as water vapor testing. Thus, it is intended to improve the performance of the membranes to suit them for both aqueous effluent and gas separation applications. (AU)