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Effect of hygroscopic materials on water vapor permeation and dehumidification performance of poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes
Author(s) -
Bui T.D.,
Wong Y.,
Thu K.,
Oh S.J.,
Kum Ja M.,
Ng K.C.,
Raisul I.,
Chua K.J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.44765
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , permeation , triethylene glycol , membrane , materials science , water vapor , chemical engineering , permeance , sorption , polymer chemistry , vinyl chloride , chemistry , polymer , composite material , organic chemistry , adsorption , copolymer , biochemistry , engineering
In this study, two hygroscopic materials, inorganic lithium chloride (LiCl) and organic triethylene glycol (TEG) were separately added to poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to form blend membranes for air dehumidification. Water vapor permeation, dehumidification performance and long‐term durability of the membranes were studied systematically. Membrane hydrophilicity and water vapor sorbability increased significantly with higher the hygroscopic material contents. Water vapor permeance of the membranes increased with both added hygroscopic material and absorbed water. Water permeation energy varied from positive to negative with higher hygroscopic content. This observation is attributed to a lower diffusion energy and a relatively constant sorption energy when hygroscopic content increases. Comparatively, PVA/TEG has less corrosive problems and is more environmentally friendly than PVA/LiCl. A membrane with PVA/TEG is observed to be highly durable and is suitable for dehumidification applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44765.