Abstract
A novel laboratory equipment has been constructed to allow research in the development of solvent-resistant and solvent-tolerant nanofiltration applications. The equipment can control six parallel lines while concurrently feeding different solvents or mixtures of solvents over membrane samples housed in individual dead-end cells. Control feedback between the solvent flow (up to 40 g h–1) and pressure developing over the membrane sample (up to 40 bar(a)) is realized independently for each line. The feedback enables one to set experiments in either a constant-flow or constant-pressure operation mode. At all times, the temperature of the process (up to 80 °C) is controlled and referenced for an accurate evaluation of the apparent permeability, accounting for changes in the physical properties of the used solvent (i.e., viscosity and density). The test equipment can be employed in long-term operations, initially following changes in the permeability of a fresh membrane during preconditioning (washing, swelling, and/or compacting), with subsequent process studies assessing the properties of the settled polymeric structures relevant in filtration.
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