Fabrication of a novel nanofibers-covered hollow fiber membrane via continuous electrospinning with non-rotational collectors

Abstract

A novel nanofibers-covered hollow fiber membrane (N-HFM) with high porosity (83.5%) was prepared via employing electrospinning to deposit nanofibers onto a porous supporting tube. Electrospun nanofibers covered on a porous supporting tube serve as the outer layer of the N-HFM. The supporting tube fixed on the soft electrode serves as the collector as well as the inner layer of the N-HFM. When the feeding rate was 1mlL−1, it was possible to continuously fabricate N-HFM with a non-rotational collector. The prepared N-HFM was used for desalination by direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), and a high distillate flux of 17kgm−2h−1 was obtained while the feed and permeate temperatures were fixed at 333K and 293K, respectively. It is expected that the novel hollow fiber membranes with high porosity fabricated by this continuous electrospinning technique may be attractive in various separation and purification processes.