Abstract
Polymer membranes are central to the proper operation of several processes used in a wide range of applications. The production of these membranes relies on processes such as phase inversion, stretching, track etching, sintering, or electrospinning. A novel and competitive strategy in membrane production is the use of additive manufacturing that enables the easier manufacture of tailored membranes. To achieve the future development of better membranes, it is necessary to compare this novel production process to that of more conventional techniques, and clarify the advantages and disadvantages. This review article compares a conventional method of manufacturing polymer membranes to additive manufacturing. A review of 3D printed membranes is also done to give researchers a reference guide. Membranes from these two approaches were compared in terms of cost, materials, structures, properties, performance. and environmental impact. Results show that very few membrane materials are used as 3D-printed membranes. Such membranes showed acceptable performance, better structures, and less environmental impact compared with those of conventional membranes.
Highlights
Membrane technology, polymer membranes, has multiple applications, including water treatment, electrodialysis, in batteries, and in the food and pharmaceutical industries [1–3]
If we look at thin-film composite asymmetric membrane (TFC) membranes used in desalination, the formation of the polyamide layer by interfacial polymerization is more successful for 3D printing than with the traditional method
It results from the layer-by-layer operation of additive manufacturing, where the lower single layer height cannot go below 25 μm
Summary
Polymer membranes, has multiple applications, including water treatment, electrodialysis, in batteries, and in the food and pharmaceutical industries [1–3]. Conventional methods offer efficient membranes, the precise control of preparation parameters remains problematic. To overcome these challenges, some researchers have been adopting the additive manufacturing (AM) of membranes. All these questions can lead to many thoughts about conventional and additive membranes These are some of the topics that this article attempts to elucidate while highlighting differences between conventionally and 3D-fabricated membranes. This comparison is inevitable to evaluate the potential of 3D membranes compared to membranes produced with methods that had undergone decades of optimization. Prospects for developing high-performance polymer membranes highlight the potential of such manufacturing techniques
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