scholarly journals Morphological and elemental analyses of supported palladium (Pd)/silver (Ag) composite membranes

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Miria Reis ◽  
Fernanda A. Arzani ◽  
Vicelma L. Cardoso

Supported palladium (Pd)/silver (Ag) composite membranes have been investigated for hydrogen separation mainly in order to avoid hydrogen embrittlement, improve hydrogen permeance and reduce membrane cost. The electroless method is recommended for the co-plating of Pd and Ag on a substrate surface. However, Ag precursor has a higher redox potential than Pd and, thus, Ag is preferentially deposited, which compromises the membrane selectivity to hydrogen. Here we investigated the morphology and elemental composition of supported palladium (Pd)/silver (Ag) composite membranes produced by different methods. The first membrane was produced from a plating solution of 80 wt% of Pd and 20 wt% of Ag. The membrane surface presented several large dendritic crystals that not grown in a direction to form a dense metallic film. According to EDS results, the membrane surface presented similar Pd and Ag composition, which confirms the preferential Ag deposition. At room temperature, this membrane presented a nitrogen flux of 0.35 mol m-2 s-1 at 200 kPa of transmembrane pressure. Thus, the formed membrane is not suitable for hydrogen separation. The second membrane was formed by adding small amounts of Ag to the plating solution during the electroless process. The final plating solution contained 75 wt% of Pd and 25 w% of Ag. The membrane thickness was 2 µm, but the membrane morphology was not totally dense. According to EDS results, the Ag composition was greater than the Pd composition, especially at the membrane top surface. This membrane also presented high nitrogen permeance probably due to the holes formed on the membrane surface. Thus, although the controlled addition of Ag is recommended to form dense membranes, the Ag was preferentially deposited over the Pd when starting with the highest rate of Ag addition. Adding lower Ag rates at the beginning could be helpful to avoid the preferential Ag deposition.  

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Miria Reis ◽  
Fernanda A. Arzani ◽  
Vicelma L. Cardoso

Supported palladium (Pd)/silver (Ag) composite membranes have been investigated for hydrogen separation mainly in order to avoid hydrogen embrittlement, improve hydrogen permeance and reduce membrane cost. The electroless method is recommended for the co-plating of Pd and Ag on a substrate surface. However, Ag precursor has a higher redox potential than Pd and, thus, Ag is preferentially deposited, which compromises the membrane selectivity to hydrogen. Here we investigated the morphology and elemental composition of supported palladium (Pd)/silver (Ag) composite membranes produced by different methods. The first membrane was produced from a plating solution of 80 wt% of Pd and 20 wt% of Ag. The membrane surface presented several large dendritic crystals that not grown in a direction to form a dense metallic film. According to EDS results, the membrane surface presented similar Pd and Ag composition, which confirms the preferential Ag deposition. At room temperature, this membrane presented a nitrogen flux of 0.35 mol m-2 s-1 at 200 kPa of transmembrane pressure. Thus, the formed membrane is not suitable for hydrogen separation. The second membrane was formed by adding small amounts of Ag to the plating solution during the electroless process. The final plating solution contained 75 wt% of Pd and 25 w% of Ag. The membrane thickness was 2 µm, but the membrane morphology was not totally dense. According to EDS results, the Ag composition was greater than the Pd composition, especially at the membrane top surface. This membrane also presented high nitrogen permeance probably due to the holes formed on the membrane surface. Thus, although the controlled addition of Ag is recommended to form dense membranes, the Ag was preferentially deposited over the Pd when starting with the highest rate of Ag addition. Adding lower Ag rates at the beginning could be helpful to avoid the preferential Ag deposition.  


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Yun Han ◽  
Chang-Hyun Kim ◽  
Sang-Ho Kim ◽  
Dong-Won Kim

For the commercial applications of hydrogen separation membranes, both high hydrogen selectivity and permeability (i.e., perm-selectivity) are required. However, it has been difficult to fabricate thin, dense Pd alloy composite membranes on porous metal support that have a pore-free surface and an open structure at the interface between the Pd alloy films and the metal support in order to obtain the required properties simultaneously. In this study, we fabricated Pd alloy hydrogen separation membranes with dense/porous hybrid structure for high hydrogen perm-selectivity. The hydrogen selectivity of this membrane increased owing to the dense and pore-free microstructure of the membrane surface. The hydrogen permeation flux also was remarkably improved by the formation of an open microstructure with numerous open voids at the interface and by an effective reduction in the membrane thickness as a result of the porous structure formed within the Pd alloy films.


Author(s):  
K. S. Burts ◽  
T. V. Plisko ◽  
A. V. Bildyukevich ◽  
G. Li ◽  
J. Kujawa ◽  
...  

Composite membranes for pervaporation were prepared by forming a selective layer based on cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on the porous membrane-substrate surface in the dynamic mode (via PVA solution ultrafiltration). It was found that the pressure growth results in increasing the thickness of the composite membrane selective layer. Composite membrane contact angle, flux, water content in permeate in ethanol/water (mass ratio 90/10) pervaporation were revealed to have maximum values at 3–4 atm depending on the PVA concentration in the feed solution. It was shown that the revealed dependence of the contact angle, selectivity, and permeability on the pressure of the selective layer formation is due to the compaction of the polymer matrix-substrate under the action of the transmembrane pressure and its relaxation after pressure release. When using elevated pressures (more than 3–4 atm), the relaxation of the polymer matrix causes the microdefect to form as a result of deformation of the selective layer.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Guccini ◽  
Annika Carlson ◽  
Shun Yu ◽  
Göran Lindbergh ◽  
Rakel Wreland Lindström ◽  
...  

The performance of thin carboxylated cellulose nanofiber-based (CNF) membranes as proton exchange membranes in fuel cells has been measured in-situ as a function of CNF surface charge density (600 and 1550 µmol g<sup>-1</sup>), counterion (H<sup>+</sup>or Na<sup>+</sup>), membrane thickness and fuel cell relative humidity (RH 55 to 95 %). The structural evolution of the membranes as a function of RH as measured by Small Angle X-ray scattering shows that water channels are formed only above 75 % RH. The amount of absorbed water was shown to depend on the membrane surface charge and counter ions (Na<sup>+</sup>or H<sup>+</sup>). The high affinity of CNF for water and the high aspect ratio of the nanofibers, together with a well-defined and homogenous membrane structure, ensures a proton conductivity exceeding 1 mS cm<sup>-1</sup>at 30 °C between 65 and 95 % RH. This is two orders of magnitude larger than previously reported values for cellulose materials and only one order of magnitude lower than Nafion 212. Moreover, the CNF membranes are characterized by a lower hydrogen crossover than Nafion, despite being ≈ 30 % thinner. Thanks to their environmental compatibility and promising fuel cell performance the CNF membranes should be considered for new generation proton exchange membrane fuel cells.<br>


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 461
Author(s):  
Fu Yang ◽  
Zhengkun Huang ◽  
Jun Huang ◽  
Chongde Wu ◽  
Rongqing Zhou ◽  
...  

Ultrafiltration is a promising, environment-friendly alternative to the current physicochemical-based tannery wastewater treatment. In this work, ultrafiltration was employed to treat the tanning wastewater as an upstream process of the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system in the leather industry. The filtration efficiency and fouling behaviors were analyzed to assess the impact of membrane material and operating conditions (shear rate on the membrane surface and transmembrane pressure). The models of resistance-in-series, fouling propensity, and pore blocking were used to provide a comprehensive analysis of such a process. The results show that the process efficiency is strongly dependent on the operating conditions, while the membranes of either PES or PVDF showed similar filtration performance and fouling behavior. Reversible resistance was the main obstacle for such process. Cake formation was the main pore blocking mechanism during such process, which was independent on the operating conditions and membrane materials. The increase in shear rate significantly increased the steady-state permeation flux, thus, the filtration efficiency was improved, which resulted from both the reduction in reversible resistance and the slow-down of fouling layer accumulate rate. This is the first time that the fouling behaviors of tanning wastewater ultrafiltration were comprehensively evaluated, thus providing crucial guidance for further scientific investigation and industrial application.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Huiping Li ◽  
Weihai Pang ◽  
Baiqin Zhou ◽  
Tian Li ◽  
...  

Nanofiltration (NF) is a promising post-treatment technology for providing high-quality drinking water. However, membrane fouling remains a challenge to long-term NF in providing high-quality drinking water. Herein, we found that coupling pre-treatments (sand filtration (SF) and ozone–biological activated carbon (O3-BAC)) and NF is a potent tactic against membrane fouling while achieving high-quality drinking water. The pilot results showed that using SF+O3-BAC pre-treated water as the feed water resulted in a lower but a slowly rising transmembrane pressure (TMP) in NF post-treatment, whereas an opposite observation was found when using SF pre-treated water as the feed water. High-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (3D-EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy determined that the O3-BAC process changed the characteristic of dissolved organic matter (DOM), probably by removing the DOM of lower apparent molecular weight (LMW) and decreasing the biodegradability of water. Moreover, amino acids and tyrosine-like substances which were significantly related to medium and small molecule organics were found as the key foulants to membrane fouling. In addition, the accumulation of powdered activated carbon in O3-BAC pre-treated water on the membrane surface could be the key reason protecting the NF membrane from fouling.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 859
Author(s):  
Yu Zang ◽  
Toshiki Aoki ◽  
Masahiro Teraguchi ◽  
Takashi Kaneko ◽  
Hongge Jia ◽  
...  

Two kinds of novel nanoporous polycondensates (sc(Rf)) have been synthesized by two new preparation methods consisting of polycondensation and highly selective photocyclicaromataization of 1/3 helical cis-cis polyphenylacetylenes with polymerizable groups. By the original methods, new well-defined sheet polymers having nanopores or nanospaces have been synthesized for the first time. Their composite membranes, containing small amounts (1.0 wt%) of sc(Rf), had ultrahigh oxygen permeability (Po2 > 1000 barrer), and their plots were beyond the Robeson’s upper bound line in the graph of oxygen permselectivity (α = Po2/PN2) versus Po2. Both α and Po2 values were enhanced by adding only small amounts (1.0 wt%) of sc(Rf). One of the sc(Rf)s synthesized on the base membrane surface showed the best performance, i.e., Po2 = 5300 barrer and α = 2.5. The membrane surface was effectively covered by sc(Rf), judging from the contact angle values. It is thought that nanopores and nanospaces created in and between sc(Rf) molecules played an important role for the enhancement of both α and Po2/PN2.


1999 ◽  
Vol 350 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 106-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anwu Li ◽  
Weiqiang Liang ◽  
Ronald Hughes

Membranes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Charlton ◽  
Boyue Lian ◽  
Gaetan Blandin ◽  
Greg Leslie ◽  
Pierre Le-Clech

In an effort to improve performances of forward osmosis (FO) systems, several innovative draw spacers have been proposed. However, the small pressure generally applied on the feed side of the process is expected to result in the membrane bending towards the draw side, and in the gradual occlusion of the channel. This phenomenon potentially presents detrimental effects on process performance, including pressure drop and external concentration polarization (ECP) in the draw channel. A flat sheet FO system with a dot-spacer draw channel geometry was characterized to determine the degree of draw channel occlusion resulting from feed pressurization, and the resulting implications on flow performance. First, tensile testing was performed on the FO membrane to derive a Young’s modulus, used to assess the membrane stretching, and the resulting draw channel characteristics under a range of moderate feed pressures. Membrane apex reached up to 67% of the membrane channel height when transmembrane pressure (TMP) of 1.4 bar was applied. The new FO channels considerations were then processed by computational fluid dynamics model (computational fluid dynamics (CFD) by ANSYS Fluent v19.1) and validated against previously obtained experimental data. Further simulations were conducted to better assess velocity profiles, Reynolds number and shear rate. Reynolds number on the membrane surface (draw side) increased by 20% and shear rate increased by 90% when occlusion changed from 0 to 70%, impacting concentration polarisation (CP) on the membrane surface and therefore FO performance. This paper shows that FO draw channel occlusion is expected to have a significant impact on fluid hydrodynamics when the membrane is not appropriately supported in the draw side.


2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (3-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngan T. B. Dang ◽  
Liza B. Patacsil ◽  
Aileen H. Orbecido ◽  
Ramon Christian P. Eusebio ◽  
Arnel B. Beltran

Water resources are very important to sustain life. However, these resources have been subjected to stress due to population growth, economic and industrial growth, pollution and climate change. With these, the recovery of water from sources such as wastewater, dirty water, floodwater and seawater is a sustainable alternative. The potential of recovering water from these sources could be done by utilizing forward osmosis, a membrane process that exploits the natural osmotic pressure gradient between solutions which requires low energy operation. This study evaluated the potential of forward osmosis (FO) composite membranes fabricated from bacterial cellulose (BC) and modified with sodium alginate. The membranes were evaluated for water flux and salt rejection. The effect of alginate concentrations and impregnation temperatures were evaluated using 0.6 M sodium chloride solution as feed and 2 M glucose solution as the draw solution. The membranes were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Contact Angle Meter (CAM). The use of sodium alginate in BC membrane showed a thicker membrane (38.3 μm to 67.6 μm), denser structure (shown in the SEM images), and more hydrophilic (contact angle ranges from 28.39° to 32.97°) compared to the pristine BC membrane (thickness = 12.8 μm and contact angle = 66.13°). Furthermore, the alginate modification lowered the water flux of the BC membrane from 9.283 L/m2-h (LMH) to value ranging from 2.314 to 4.797 LMH but the improvement in salt rejection was prominent (up to 98.57%).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document