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Nitrate permeability of semi‐permeable membranes prepared from binary blends of cellulose triacetate and chitosan
Author(s) -
Eo Kyungbok,
Hwang Daehyeon,
Lee Kyoungsun,
Kim Myoeum,
Choi Kyusol,
Kwon Yong Ku
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.24546
Subject(s) - cellulose triacetate , membrane , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , chemical engineering , polymer , chitosan , polymer chemistry , cellulose , nuclear chemistry , composite material , chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
Semi‐permeable membranes of binary polymer blends of cellulose triacetate (CTA) and chitosan (CS) were produced to harvest microalgal biomass for biofuels. Relatively thick membranes of polymer blends containing more than 70% CTA were prepared via solution blending in formic acid. Various characterization methods revealed that both polymers are immiscible at the molecular level at room temperature. However, they were macroscopically compatible and exhibited uniform physical properties due to the molecular interactions between CTA and CS with the same cellulosic backbone containing two linear polysaccharides through a β‐1,4 glycosidic bond. Careful visual inspection revealed that these membranes are transparent and their light transmittance was greater than 90% at all blend compositions. All membranes showed excellent tensile strength at all compositions and the maximum tensile strength was 52.4 MP from the membrane with a CTA/CS weight ratio of 9:1. TheNO 3 −permeability of these blend films increased with increasing CS content and the maximum value was 44.28 mg/m 2 /day. To improve theNO 3 −permeability or transfer rate of the CTA/CS membranes, the porous CTA/CS membranes were also prepared using various amounts of silica nanoparticles. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:192–197, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers