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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 March 2019) | Viewed by 65823

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Prof. Dr. Hidetaka Kawakita

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Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, Saga University, Saga, Japan
Interests: filtration of particles; gel-packed layer for separation of particles; metal nanoparticle recovery from viscous polymers and colloidal solutions; particle separation by fluid flow; saccharide recovery of germanium-immobilized resin; extraction of useful compounds from microalgae
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Dear Colleagues,

Polymers, from micro- to macro-level architecture, have been applied for the separation of metals, biomacromolecules, such as proteins, DNA, RNA, and saccharides, and colloidal particles of cells and microorganisms. Some polymers are introduced to porous media to separate targets via some interactions, and diffusion and convection in batch and permeation mode. Adsorption, as well as flocculation, using polymers will perform the selective separation in a simple system. During processing, dynamic and static states of the polymers should be designed for sophisticated separation. In this Special Issue, separation technique using polymers are opened for the researchers, polymer chemists, and chemical engineers.

Associate Prof. Hidetaka Kawakita
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Separation
Adsorption
Porous media
Membrane
Flocculation
Chromatography
Extraction

Published Papers (14 papers)

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16 pages, 3805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Membrane-Based Clarification and Fractionation of Red Wine Lees Aqueous Extracts

by Alfredo Cassano, Antonella Bentivenga, Carmela Conidi, Francesco Galiano, Omar Saoncella and Alberto Figoli

Polymers 2019, 11(7), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11071089 - 26 Jun 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3146

Abstract

Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes prepared in laboratory through the inversion phase method were characterized and used to clarify an aqueous extract from red wine lees. Steady-state permeate fluxes of 53 kg/m²h were obtained in the treatment of the aqueous extract in selected operating conditions. Suspended solids were completely retained by the hollow fiber membranes while bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, anthocyanins, and resveratrol were recovered in the permeate stream. The clarified stream was then fractionated by nanofiltration (NF). Three different commercial membranes, in flat-sheet configuration (NP010 and NP030 from Microdyn-Nadir, MPF36 from Koch Membrane Systems), were selected and tested for their productivity and selectivity towards sugars and bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, and resveratrol. All selected membranes showed high retention towards anthocyanins (higher than 93%). Therefore, they were considered suitable to concentrate anthocyanins from clarified wine lees extracts at low temperature. On the other hand, NF permeate streams resulted enriched in phenolic compounds and resveratrol. Among the selected membranes, the MPF36 exhibited the lowest retention towards resveratrol (10%) and polyphenols (26.3%) and the best separation factor between these compounds and anthocyanins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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9 pages, 1206 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Membrane Inlet and Capillary Introduction Miniature Mass Spectrometry for Liquid Analysis

by Wenyan Shi, Xinqiong Lu, Jinbo Zhang, Jianhong Zhao, Lili Yang, Quan Yu and Xiaohao Wang

Polymers 2019, 11(3), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11030567 - 26 Mar 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3954

Abstract

Membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) is commonly used for detecting the components in liquid samples. When a liquid sample flows through a membrane, certain analytes will permeate into the vacuum chamber of a mass spectrometer from the solution. The properties of the membrane directly determine the substances that can be detected by MIMS. A capillary introduction (CI) method we previously proposed can also be used to analyze gas and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) dissolved in liquids. When CI analysis is carried out, the sample is drawn into the mass spectrometer with no species discrimination. The performance of these two injection methods was compared in this study, and similar response time and limit of detection (LOD) can be acquired. Specifically, MIMS can provide better detection sensitivity for most inorganic gases and volatile organic compounds. In contrast, capillary introduction shows wider compatibility on analyte types and quantitative range, and it requires less sample consumption. As the two injection methods have comparable characteristics and can be coupled with a miniature mass spectrometer, factors such as cost, pollution, device size, and sample consumption should be comprehensively considered when choosing a satisfactory injection method in practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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15 pages, 3901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sorption of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) Ions in an Aqueous Solution on the PVC-Acetylacetone Composites

by Elzbieta Radzyminska-Lenarcik and Katarzyna Witt

Polymers 2019, 11(3), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11030513 - 18 Mar 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2883

Abstract

The possibility of removing Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions by sorption on new PVC-based composite materials with different contents of acetylacetone (acac) and porophor was investigated. Composites were characterized using a scanning electron microscope and by infrared spectral analysis (FTIR). Sorption tests were conducted at 20 °C. It has been shown that the equilibrium is established in about 4 h. The reduction in ion concentration in the solution depended on the content of both acac and porophor in the composite. The maximal reduction in ion concentration ranged from 8% to 91%, 10–85% and 6–50% for Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions, respectively, depending on the composite composition. The best results were obtained for the composite containing 30% w/w of acac and 10% of porophor. For this composite, the sorption capacity after 4 h sorption for Zn(II), Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions was 26.65, 25.40, and 49.68 mg/g, respectively. Kinetic data were best fitted with a pseudo–second-order equation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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13 pages, 2901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Demulsification-Flocculation Mechanism of Oil-Water Emulsion in Produced Water from Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer Flooding

by Bin Huang, Xiaohui Li, Wei Zhang, Cheng Fu, Ying Wang and Siqiang Fu

Polymers 2019, 11(3), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11030395 - 28 Feb 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7064

Abstract

The issue of pipeline scaling and oil-water separation caused by treating produced water in Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) flooding greatly limits the wide use of ASP flooding technology. Therefore, this study of the demulsification-flocculation mechanism of oil-water emulsion in ASP flooding produced water is of great importance for ASP produced water treatment and its application. In this paper, the demulsification-flocculation mechanism of produced water is studied by simulating the changes in oil-water interfacial tension, Zeta potential and the size of oil droplets of produced water with an added demulsifier or flocculent by laboratory experiments. The results show that the demulsifier molecules can be adsorbed onto the oil droplets and replace the surfactant absorbed on the surface of oil droplets, reducing interfacial tension and weakening interfacial film strength, resulting in decreased stability of the oil droplets. The demulsifier can also neutralize the negative charge on the surface of oil droplets and reduce the electrostatic repulsion between them which will be beneficial for the accumulation of oil droplets. The flocculent after demulsification of oil droplets by charge neutralization, adsorption bridging, and sweeping all functions together. Thus, the oil droplets form aggregates and the synthetic action by the demulsifier and the flocculent causes the oil drop film to break up and oil droplet coalescence occurs to separate oil water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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15 pages, 4333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solution Blown Nylon 6 Nanofibrous Membrane as Scaffold for Nanofiltration

by Ya Liu, Gaokai Zhang, Xupin Zhuang, Sisi Li, Lei Shi, Weimin Kang, Bowen Cheng and Xianlin Xu

Polymers 2019, 11(2), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020364 - 19 Feb 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4301

Abstract

In this work, a nylon 6 nanofibrous membrane was prepared via solution blowing technology and followed hot-press as scaffold for nanofiltration. The structure and properties of the hot-pressed nylon 6 nanofibrous membrane (HNM) were studied the effect of hot-pressing parameters and areal densities. Then an ultra-thin polyamide (PA) active layer was prepared by interfacial polymerization on HNM. The effects of nanofibrous scaffolds on the surface properties of ultra-thin nanofiltration membranes and their filtration performance were studied. Results showed that the nylon 6 nanofibers prepared at a concentration of 15 wt % had a good morphology and diameter distribution and the nanofibers were stacked more tightly and significantly reduced in diameter after hot pressing at 180 °C under the pressure of 15 MPa for 10 s. When the porous scaffold was prepared, HNM with an areal density of 9.4 and 14.1 g/m² has a better apparent structure, a smaller pore size, a higher porosity and a greater strength. At the same time, different areal densities of HNM have an important influence on the preparation and properties of nanofiltration membranes. With the increase of areal density, the uniformity of HNM increased while their surface roughness and pore size decreased, which is beneficial to the establishment of PA barrier layer. With areal density of 9.4 and 14.1 g/m², the as-prepared nanofiltration membrane has a smoother surface and more outstanding filtration performance. The pure water flux is 13.1 L m⁻² h⁻¹ and the filtration efficiencies for NaCl and Na₂SO₄ are 81.3% and 85.1%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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13 pages, 1860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Simple Methodology to Estimate the Diffusion Coefficient in Pervaporation-Based Purification Experiments

by Gabriela Dudek and Przemysław Borys

Polymers 2019, 11(2), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020343 - 15 Feb 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3434

Abstract

A procedure to estimate the diffusion coefficient in solution–diffusion models of hydrophilic membranes used in pervaporation-based purification experiments is presented. The model is based on a series solution of the general permeation problem. It considers a membrane that can be filled with water or with the feed solution before the measurement. Furthermore, the length of the tubing between the permeation cell and the place of cold traps is also addressed. To illustrate the parameter estimation procedure, we have chosen the data for the separation of water and ethanol by chitosan membranes. It is shown that the diffusion coefficient can be estimated effectively from the time course of the transported mass and by the analysis of certain well defined time lags of the permeation curve. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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14 pages, 6618 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Application of Polymer Inclusion Membranes Based on CTA with 1-alkylimidazole for the Separation of Zinc(II) and Manganese(II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions

by Elzbieta Radzyminska-Lenarcik and Malgorzata Ulewicz

Polymers 2019, 11(2), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020242 - 01 Feb 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3610

Abstract

Polymer cellulose triacetate membranes doped with 1-alkylimidazole as fixed carriers were applied for the investigation of the facilitated transport of Zn(II) and Mn(II) ions from an aqueous sulphate feed phase (c_M = 0.001 mol/dm³). For the polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) doped with 1-alkylimidazole (alkyl – from hexyl up to decyl), the following patterns of transport selectivity were found: Zn(II) > Mn(II). The highest initial flux of Zn(II) ions (2.65 µmol/m²·s) was found for PIMs doped with 1-decyl-imidazole, whereas the best Zn(II)/Mn(II) selectivity coefficients equal to 19.7 were found for 1-hexyl-imidazole. Permeability coefficients for Zn(II) and Mn(II) ions transported across PIMs increase with an increase in the pK_a values of 1-alkylimidazole. The polymer membranes of cellulose triacetate-o-NPPE with 1-alkylimidazole were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, non-contact atomic force microscopy and thermal analysis techniques. The influence of membrane morphology on the Zn(II) and Mn(II) transport process was discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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15 pages, 5332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Polymer Material for Efficiently Removing Methylene Blue, Cu(II) and Emulsified Oil Droplets from Water Simultaneously

by Jie Cao, Jianbei Zhang, Yuejun Zhu, Shanshan Wang, Xiujun Wang and Kaihe Lv

Polymers 2018, 10(12), 1393; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10121393 - 15 Dec 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4401

Abstract

The pollution of water resources has become a worldwide concern. The primary pollutants including insoluble oil, toxic dyes, and heavy metal ions. Herein, we report a polymer adsorbent, named SPCT, to remove the above three contaminants from water simultaneously. The preparation process of SPCT contains two steps. Firstly, a hydrogel composed of sulfonated phenolic resin (SMP) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) was synthesized using glutaraldehyde (GA) as the crosslinking agent, and the product was named SPG. Then SPCT was prepared by the reaction between SPG and citric acid (CA) at 170

^{\circ}

C. SPCT exhibited an excellent performance for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution. For a solution with a pollutant concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹, a removal efficiency of above 90% could be obtained with a SPCT dosage of 0.2 g L⁻¹ for MB, or a SPCT dosage of 0.5 g L⁻¹ for Cu(II), respectively. SPCT also presented an interesting wettability. In air, it was both superhydrophilic and superoleophilic, and it was superoleophobic underwater. Therefore, SPCT could successfully separate oil-in-water emulsion with high separation efficiency and resistance to oil fouling. Additionally, SPCT was easily regenerated by using dilute HCl solution as an eluent. The outstanding performance of SPCT and the efficient, cost-effective preparation process highlight its potential for practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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17 pages, 5022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Thin-Film Nanocomposite Nanofiltration Membrane by Incorporating 3D Hyperbranched Polymer Functionalized 2D Graphene Oxide

by Quanling Xie, Shishen Zhang, Hanjun Ma, Wenyao Shao, Xiao Gong and Zhuan Hong

Polymers 2018, 10(11), 1253; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10111253 - 12 Nov 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3977

Abstract

In order to develop a high-performance thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration (NF) membrane, the functionalized graphene-based nanomaterial (GO-HBE-COOH) was synthesized by combining two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) with a three-dimensional hyperbranched polymer, which was used as the novel nanofiller and successfully embedded into the polypiperazine-amide (PPA) active layers on polysulfone (PSU) substrates via interfacial polymerization (IP) process. The resultant NF membranes were characterized using ATR-FTIR, SEM, and AFM, while their performance was evaluated in terms of water flux, salt rejection, antifouling ability, and chlorine resistance. The influence of GO-HBE-COOH concentration on the morphologies, properties, and performance of TFN NF membranes was investigated. With the addition of 60 ppm GO-HBE-COOH, the TFN-GHC-60 NF membrane exhibited the optimal water flux without a sacrifice of the salt rejection. It was found that the introduction of GO-HBE-COOH nanosheets favored the formation of a thinner and smoother nanocomposite active layer with an enhanced hydrophilicity and negative charge. As a result, TFN NF membranes demonstrated a superior permeaselectivity, antifouling ability, and chlorine resistance over the conventional PPA thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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18 pages, 8397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The New Generation from Biomembrane with Green Technologies for Wastewater Treatment

by Ahmed Mohamed El-hadi and Hatem Rashad Alamri

Polymers 2018, 10(10), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10101174 - 22 Oct 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4145

Abstract

A biopolymer of polylactic acid (PLLA)/polypropylene carbonate (PPC)/poly (3-hydroxybutrate) (PHB)/triethyl citrate (TEC) blends was prepared by the solution-casting method at different proportions. The thermal characteristics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). PHB and TEC were added to improve the interfacial adhesion, crystallization behavior, and mechanical properties of the immiscible blend from PLLA and PPC (20%). The addition of more than 20% of PPC as an amorphous part hindered the crystallization of PLLA. PPC, PHB, and TEC also interacted with the PLLA matrix, which reduced the glass transition temperature (T_g), the cold crystallization temperature (T_cc), and the melting point (T_m) to about 53, 57 and 15 °C, respectively. The T_g shifted from 60 to 7 °C; therefore, the elongation at break improved from 6% (pure PLLA) to 285% (PLLA blends). In this article, biomembranes of PLLA with additives were developed and made by an electrospinning process. The new generation from biopolymer membranes can be used to absorb suspended pollutants in the water, which helps in the purification of drinking water in the household. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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11 pages, 2517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation and Properties of sc-PLA/PMMA Transparent Nanofiber Air Filter

by Shengnan Lv, Xin Zhao, Lei Shi, Gaokai Zhang, Shubo Wang, Weimin Kang and Xupin Zhuang

Polymers 2018, 10(9), 996; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10090996 - 06 Sep 2018

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5880

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a serious concern for the environment and public health. To protect indoor air quality, nanofiber filters have been used to coat window screens due to their high PM removal efficiency, transparency and low air resistance. However, these materials have poor mechanical property. In this study, electrostatic induction-assisted solution blowing was used to fabricate polylactide stereocomplex (sc-PLA), which served as reinforcement to enhance the physical cross-linking point to significantly restrict poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) molecular chain motion and improve the mechanical properties of sc-PLA/PMMA nanofibers. Moreover, the introduction of sc-PLA led to the formation of thick/thin composite nanofiber structure, which is beneficial for the mechanical property. Thus, sc-PLA/PMMA air filters of ~83% transparency with 99.5% PM_2.5 removal and 140% increase in mechanical properties were achieved when 5 wt % sc-PLA was added to PMMA. Hence, the addition of sc-PLA to transparent filters can effectively improve their performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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15 pages, 2470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption Separation of Analgesic Pharmaceuticals from Ultrapure and Waste Water: Batch Studies Using a Polymeric Resin and an Activated Carbon

by Ricardo N. Coimbra, Carla Escapa and Marta Otero

Polymers 2018, 10(9), 958; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10090958 - 29 Aug 2018

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4814

Abstract

The performance of a polymeric resin (Sepabeads SP207, from Resindion, Binasco, Italy) was compared with that of an activated carbon (GPP20, from Chemviron Carbon, Feluy, Belgium) in the adsorption of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from either ultrapure or waste water. Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption experiments were carried out under batch operation conditions, and fittings of the obtained results to different models were determined. The kinetic experimental results fitted the pseudo-first and -second order equations, and the corresponding kinetic rates evidenced that the pharmaceuticals adsorption was faster onto GPP20 than onto Sepabeads SP207, but was mostly unaffected by the aqueous matrix. The equilibrium results fitted the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model. The corresponding maximum adsorption capacity (Q_m, mg⁻¹) was larger onto GPP20 (202 mg g⁻¹ ≤ Q_m ≤ 273 mg g⁻¹) than onto the polymeric resin (7 mg g⁻¹ ≤ Q_m ≤ 18 mg g⁻¹). With respect to the parameter K_LF (mg g⁻¹ (mg L⁻¹)^−1/n), which points to the adsorbent-adsorbate affinity, greater values were determined for the pharmaceuticals adsorption onto GPP20 than onto Sepabeads SP207. For both adsorbents and pharmaceuticals, neither Q_m or K_LF were affected by the aqueous matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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17 pages, 7737 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Diluent Mixture with Upper Critical Solution Temperature on Membrane Formation Process, Microstructure, and Performance of PVDF Hollow Fiber Membrane by TIPS Process

by Zhenyu Cui, Shanshan Xu, Jinyue Ding, Jing Zhang, Benqiao He, Hao Wang and Jianxin Li

Polymers 2018, 10(7), 719; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10070719 - 30 Jun 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3071

Abstract

Thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) is a technique to prepare commercial membrane. However, the quick polymer crystallization during the quenching process will bring about a dense and thick skin layer and thus decrease permeability markedly. In this paper, a diluent mixture with upper critical solution temperature (UCST) was used to prepare polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane. That is, the separation between diluent (propylene carbonate (PC)) and non-diluent (dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP)) occurred during the quenching process when the temperature of the dope was lower than 110 °C. The effects of separation between PC and DOTP and the resulting coalescence of DOTP on the PVDF crystallization process, microstructure, and the permeability of the membranes were analyzed. The results showed that the suitable PC/DOTP weight ratio reduced the thickness of the skin layer near the outer surface markedly and resulted in a porous outer surface, and the microstructure evolution process was proposed. The maximum pure water flux for the prepared membrane is up to 128.5 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹ even in a dry mode without using a hydrophilizing agent. The rejection rate of the carbonic particle is nearly 100%. This study presents a novel and simple way to fabricate the microporous membrane with the interconnected pore structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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34 pages, 6281 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Superwetting Polymeric Three Dimensional (3D) Porous Materials for Oil/Water Separation: A Review

by Yihao Guan, Fangqin Cheng and Zihe Pan

Polymers 2019, 11(5), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050806 - 06 May 2019

Cited by 106 | Viewed by 10030

Abstract

Oil spills and the emission of oily wastewater have triggered serious water pollution and environment problems. Effectively separating oil and water is a world-wide challenge and extensive efforts have been made to solve this issue. Interfacial super-wetting separation materials e.g., sponge, foams, and aerogels with high porosity tunable pore structures, are regarded as effective media to selectively remove oil and water. This review article reports the latest progress of polymeric three dimensional porous materials (3D-PMs) with super wettability to separate oil/water mixtures. The theories on developing super-wetting porous surfaces and the effects of wettability on oil/water separation have been discussed. The typical 3D porous structures (e.g., sponge, foam, and aerogel), commonly used polymers, and the most reported techniques involved in developing desired porous networks have been reviewed. The performances of 3D-PMs such as oil/water separation efficiency, elasticity, and mechanical stability are discussed. Additionally, the current challenges in the fabrication and long-term operation of super-wetting 3D-PMs in oil/water separation have also been introduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer for Separation)

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