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Impact of Organic Solvents on Physicochemical Properties of Nanofiltration and Reverse‐Osmosis Membranes
Author(s) -
Rezzadori Katia,
Penha Frederico M.,
Proner Mariane C.,
Zin Guilherme,
Petrus José C. C.,
Di Luccio Marco
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201900020
Subject(s) - membrane , nanofiltration , permeation , chemical engineering , solvent , reverse osmosis , chemistry , polymer , contact angle , chromatography , hexane , synthetic membrane , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
Polymeric membranes subjected to the permeation of n‐ hexane were characterized and the influence of pretreatment with ethanol on the properties of the membranes was studied to assess membrane performance and stability. The results suggest that the selectivity of the membrane depends not only on the pore size, but also to a great extent on the interaction between solvent and polymer. An increase in membrane roughness and contact angle was observed for all membranes after pretreatment with ethanol and n ‐hexane permeation. Moreover, the surface free energy decreased after solvents exposure, indicating an increase in membrane surface hydrophobicity and polymer swelling. The studied membranes show feasibility of use for the recovery of solvents, if suitable process parameters are selected.