Polymeric Hollow Fibers: State of the Art Review of Their Preparation, Characterization and Applications in Different Research Areas

In this article an attempt is made to review critically the papers published recently on polymeric hollow fibers and hollow fiber membranes. Hollow fiber membranes emerged in early nineteen sixties at almost the same time as the announcement of the cellulose acetate reverse osmosis membrane for seawater desalination by Loeb and Sourirajan. Since then, the hollow fiber technology has progressed along with the industrial membrane separation processes. Today, hollow fiber membranes are being used in every sector of the manufacturing industry, including gas and vapor separation, seawater desalination and waste water treatment. The fabrication of a hollow fiber membrane with a desirable pore–size distribution and performance is not an easy task. There are many factors controlling fiber morphology during the phase inversion process and, at present, we are not able to say that we fully understand the phenomena involved in the fabrication of hollow fibers. Nevertheless, there has been a large amount of knowledge accumulated during the past fifteen years, which has been supported by an equally large amount of efforts by many researchers. This paper attempts to summarize those works. The authors could however look into only those reports which have appeared in scientific journals and few patents, and they are fully aware that there must be much more information that has not surfaced to the journal publication. It is also the authors’ intention to show the future direction including the research topics that have been studied only little or not at all.

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A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF NICKEL OXIDE HOLLOW FIBER MEMBRANES: EFFECT OF AIR GAP & SINTERING TEMPERATURE

Jurnal Teknologi ◽

10.11113/jt.v78.10070 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 78 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Mohd Izzat Iqbal Mohd Zahar ◽

Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman ◽

Mukhlis A Rahman ◽

Juhana Jaafar ◽

Siti Khadijah Hubadillah

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Strength ◽

Nickel Oxide ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Air Gap ◽

Hollow Fibers ◽

Asymmetric Structure ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Fiber Membranes

A systematic study of the air gap effects on morphology and mechanical strength of Nickel Oxide (NiO) hollow fiber membranes has been carried out. The hollow fibers were prepared using the dry-jet wet spinning process using a dope solution containing NiO/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)/Arlacel/Poly(ethylene sulphide) with a weight ratio of 70/22.9/0.1/7. Tap water was used as internal and external coagulants. The cross-sectional structure of precursors hollow fiber membrane was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that both inner and outer finger-like voids of the hollow membrane were determined by the air gap distance. Experimental results indicated that an increase in air gap distance, from 100 mm to 200 mm, gave a hollow fiber with a lower mechanical strength and higher percentages of cross section surface area covered by finger-like voids structures. This study also revealed that the air gap introduced an elongation stress because of gravity on the internal or external surfaces of the NiO hollow fibers. A more effective hollow fiber membrane which is in asymmetric structure instead of symmetric structure can be produced by using air gap higher than 200 mm.

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Seawater Desalination by Modified Membrane Distillation: Effect of Hydrophilic Surface Modifying Macromolecules Addition into PVDF Hollow Fiber Membrane

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11120924 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 924

Author(s):

Mochammad Purwanto ◽

Nindita Cahya Kusuma ◽

Ma’rup Ali Sudrajat ◽

Juhana Jaafar ◽

Atikah Mohd Nasir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hollow Fiber ◽

Polyvinylidene Fluoride ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Membrane Distillation ◽

Hydrophilic Surface ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Seawater Desalination ◽

Salt Rejection ◽

Fiber Membranes

Hollow fiber membranes of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were prepared by incorporating varying concentrations of hydrophilic surface-modifying macromolecules (LSMM) and a constant amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG) additives. The membranes were fabricated by the dry-wet spinning technique. The prepared hollow fiber membranes were dip-coated by hydrophobic surface-modifying macromolecules (BSMM) as the final step fabrication. The additives combination is aimed to produce hollow fiber membranes with high flux permeation and high salt rejection in the matter of seawater desalination application. This study prepares hollow fiber membranes from the formulation of 18 wt. % of PVDF mixed with 5 wt. % of PEG and 3, 4, and 5 wt. % of LSMM. The membranes are then dip-coated with 1 wt. % of BSMM. The effect of LSMM loading on hydrophobicity, morphology, average pore size, surface porosity, and membrane performance is investigated. Coating modification on LSMM membranes showed an increase in contact angle up to 57% of pure, unmodified PVDF/PEG membranes, which made the fabricated membranes at least passable when hydrophobicity was considered as one main characteristic. Furthermore, The PVDF/PEG/4LSMM-BSMM membrane exhibits 161 °C of melting point as characterized by the DSC. This value indicates an improvement of thermal behavior shows so as the fabricated membranes are desirable for membrane distillation operation conditions range. Based on the results, it can be concluded that PVDF/PEG membranes with the use of LSMM and BSMM combination could enhance the permeate flux up to 81.32 kg·m−2·h−1 at the maximum, with stable salt rejection around 99.9%, and these are found to be potential for seawater desalination application.

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Study on the effect of spinning conditions on the performance of PSf/PVP ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane

Malaysian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ◽

10.11113/mjfas.v14n3.1215 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 343-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sumarni Mansur ◽

Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman ◽

Ahmad Fauzi Ismail ◽

Muhammad Nidzhom Zainol Abidin ◽

Noresah Said ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pore Size ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Phase Inversion ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Hollow Fibers ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Membrane Pore ◽

Phase Inversion Technique ◽

Fiber Membranes

Asymmetric, porous ultrafiltration polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated via the dry-wet phase inversion spinning technique specifically for haemodialysis membrane. The objective was to discover the suitable spinning condition for the fabrication of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane with desired sponge-like structure. During haemodialysis procedure, uremic toxins such as urea and creatinine range from size 10,000-55,000 Da needs to be excreted out from the blood. While, proteins such as albumin (66,000 Da) need to be retained. The physical structure or morphology of a fabricated membrane is a major concern in determining the efficiency of a dialysis membrane. Different type of membrane morphology will give a different result in term of its permeability and clearance efficiency. The phase inversion spinning technique is suitable in producing ultrafiltation (UF) membrane where the average pore size of the fabricated membrane is in the range of 0.001 – 0.1 µm. However, there is many factors need to be controlled and manipulated in the phase inversion technique. In this study, the effect of the PVP on membrane pore size and performances were analysed. The contact angle measurement was measured to determine the hydrophilicity of the fibers. The hydrophilic polymer is favorable to avoid fouling and increase its biocompatibility. Furthermore, the diameter of the hollow fibers was determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of different morphology of the hollow fibers on the performance of the membranes were evaluated by pure water flux and BSA rejection. Both techniques were tested using permeation flux system. Based on the results obtained, it is found that the finger-like macrovoids in PSf hollow fiber membranes were suppressed by adding 8% PVP (Mw of 360 kDa) into the spinning dope solution as the result of a drastic increase in dope viscosity. On top of that, fiber spun with 8% PVP show more porous structure which contribute to higher permeability of the membrane. The result of this study can benefit to the membrane field of research especially in membrane technology for haemodialysis application.

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Fabrication of Manganese Oxide/PTFE Hollow Fiber Membrane and Its Catalytic Degradation of Phenol

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14133651 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (13) ◽

pp. 3651

Author(s):

Yan Wang ◽

Diefei Hu ◽

Zhaoxia Zhang ◽

Juming Yao ◽

Jiri Militky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Manganese Oxide ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Weak Acid ◽

Environmental Pollutant ◽

Catalytic Degradation ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Fiber Membranes

P-aminophenol is a hazardous environmental pollutant that can remain in water in the natural environment for long periods due to its resistance to microbiological degradation. In order to decompose p-aminophenol in water, manganese oxide/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes were prepared. MnO2 and Mn3O4 were synthesized and stored in PTFE hollow fiber membranes by injecting MnSO4·H2O, KMnO4, NaOH, and H2O2 solutions into the pores of the PTFE hollow fiber membrane. The resultant MnO2/PTFE and Mn3O4/PTFE hollow fiber membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal analysis (TG). The phenol catalytic degradation performance of the hollow fiber membranes was evaluated under various conditions, including flux, oxidant content, and pH. The results showed that a weak acid environment and a decrease in flux were beneficial to the catalytic degradation performance of manganese oxide/PTFE hollow fiber membranes. The catalytic degradation efficiencies of the MnO2/PTFE and Mn3O4/PTFE hollow fiber membranes were 70% and 37% when a certain concentration of potassium monopersulfate (PMS) was added, and the catalytic degradation efficiencies of MnO2/PTFE and Mn3O4/PTFE hollow fiber membranes were 50% and 35% when a certain concentration of H2O2 was added. Therefore, the manganese oxide/PTFE hollow fiber membranes represent a good solution for the decomposition of p-aminophenol.

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Structure Morphology of Polyethersulfone Hollow Fiber Membrane via Immersion Precipitation Phase Inversion Process

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.152-154.574 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 152-154 ◽

pp. 574-578 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ping Lan ◽

Wei Wang

Keyword(s):

Hollow Fiber ◽

Phase Inversion ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Pure Water ◽

Water Flux ◽

Additive Concentration ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Fiber Membranes ◽

And Performance

Polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber membranes have been widely used in many fields, such as ultrafiltration, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, liquid/liquid or liquid/solid separation, gas separation, hemodialysis, and so on. In this paper, the sheet PES hollow fiber membranes were prepared. The morphology and performance of membranes can be controlled. By studying the influence of the compositions and conditions on the morphology and performance of PES hollow fiber membrane, the relationship of morphology and performance of the membrane is acquired. The additives were used such as glycerol, BuOH and PEG. In addition, immerse phase inversion was used as membranes preparation method. The morphology of the membrane was controlled by changing kinds of additive, concentration of additive and so on. It was found that the membrane morphologies were changed by additive obviously. Porosity , pure water flux, scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were used to characterize the morphology and performance of the membranes.

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PVDF/PVDF-g-PACMO blend hollow fiber membranes for hemodialysis: preparation, characterization, and performance

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c7ra03366d ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (43) ◽

pp. 26593-26600 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Zihan An ◽

Rui Xu ◽

Fengying Dai ◽

Gaojian Xue ◽

Xiaoling He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hollow Fiber ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Fiber Membranes ◽

And Performance

A novel approach to improve the biocompatibility of PVDF hollow fiber membrane by blending PVDF-g-PACMO copolymer for hemodialysis is provided.

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Effective Parameters on Fabrication and Modification of Braid Hollow Fiber Membranes: A Review

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11110884 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 884

Author(s):

Azadeh Nazif ◽

Hamed Karkhanechi ◽

Ehsan Saljoughi ◽

Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi ◽

Hideto Matsuyama

Keyword(s):

Hollow Fiber ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

High Surface ◽

High Surface Area ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Effective Parameters ◽

Fiber Membranes ◽

Aeration Process ◽

Fabrication Parameters

Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) possess desired properties such as high surface area, desirable filtration efficiency, high packing density relative to other configurations. Nevertheless, they are often possible to break or damage during the high-pressure cleaning and aeration process. Recently, using the braid reinforcing as support is recommended to improve the mechanical strength of HFMs. The braid hollow fiber membrane (BHFM) is capable apply under higher pressure conditions. This review investigates the fabrication parameters and the methods for the improvement of BHFM performance.

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Preparation of Alumina Hollow Fiber Membrane with Controlled Pore Structure for Contactor Process

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.744.370 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 744 ◽

pp. 370-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jin Woong Chae ◽

Hong Joo Lee ◽

Jung Hoon Park

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Pore Structure ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Gas Permeability ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Contact Process ◽

Favorable Effect ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Carbon Dioxide Absorption ◽

Fiber Membranes

The alumina hollow fiber membranes were prepared by spinning and then sintering method. The dope solution was fabricated by using 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and triethylphosphite (TEP) as solvents, which have different interaction rate with non-solvent. SEM analysis showed that the alumina hollow fiber membranes have different pore structure. In particular, the hollow fiber membranes prepared with DMSO, DMAc and NMP had finger structures. In contrast, when it was made with TEP, the membrane had a sponge structure. The gas permeability and the contact angle of each hollow fiber membranes were measured. The fabricated hollow fiber membranes were applied to the membrane contact process for the carbon dioxide absorption. The hollow fiber membranes prepared with TEP is had the highest carbon dioxide absorption characteristics. A higher carbon dioxide absorption activity of hollow fiber membranes prepared with TEP was suggested to be due to its gas permeability and hydrophobicity. In conclusion, it was confirmed that the higher gas permeation due to pore structure of the membrane had a favorable effect on the absorption performance.

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Computational Study of Reverse Osmosis Desalination Process: Hollow Fiber Module

Volume 7: Fluids Engineering ◽

10.1115/imece2017-70884 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mustafa Usta ◽

Ali E. Anqi ◽

Michael Morabito ◽

Alaa Hakim ◽

Mohammed Alrehili ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flow Field ◽

Mass Transport ◽

Reverse Osmosis ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Hollow Fiber Membranes ◽

Fiber Membrane ◽

Flow Rates ◽

Fiber Membranes ◽

Feed Channel

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a process whereby solutes are removed from a solution by means of a semipermeable membrane. Providing access to clean water is one of our generation’s grand engineering challenges, and RO processes are taking center stage in the global implementation of water purification technologies. In this work, computational fluid dynamics simulations are performed to elucidate the steady state phenomena associated with the mass transport of solution through cylindrical hollow fiber membranes in hopes of optimizing RO technologies. The Navier-Stokes and mass transport equations are solved numerically to determine the flow field and solute concentration distribution in the hollow fiber membrane bank, which is a portion of the three-dimensional feed channel containing a small collection of fibers. The k-ω Shear Stress Transport turbulence model is employed to characterize the flow field. Special attention is given to the prediction of water passage through hollow fiber membranes by the use of the solution-diffusion model, which couples the salt gradient, water flux, and local pressure at the membrane surface. This work probes hollow fiber membrane arrangement in the feed channel by considering inline and staggered alignments. Feed flow rates for Reynolds number values ranging between 400 and 1000 are considered. Increased momentum mixing within the feed channel solution can substantially enhance the system efficiency, and hollow fiber membrane arrangements and feed flow rates dictate the momentum mixing intensity. Velocity and vorticity iso-surfaces of the flow domain are presented in order to assess the momentum mixing achieved with various hollow fiber membrane arrangements and flow rates. The total water permeation rate per hour is calculated to compare system efficiencies, and the coefficient of performance is calculated to compare membrane performance relative to the necessary power input, both for the various hollow fiber membrane arrangements and feed flow rates.

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