Abstract
In this work, a novel polymeric membrane was innovated in terms of composition and preparation techniques. A blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PcH) and poly(ethersulfone) (PES) (18 wt.% total polymer concentration) was prepared using a N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvents mixture, while Lithium chloride (0.05–0.5 wt.%) was used as an additive. The electrospinning and phase inversion techniques were used together to obtain a novel membrane structure. The prepared membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscope imaging, energy dispersive X-Ray, differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance analyses. Moreover, the static water contact angle, membrane thickness, porosity, surface roughness as well as water vapor permeability were determined. ImageJ software was used to estimate the average fiber diameter. Additionally, the effect of the change of PcH concentration and coagulation bath temperature on the properties of the fabricated membrane was studied. The novel developed membrane has shown a good efficiency in terms of properties and features, as a membrane suitable for membrane distillation (MD); a high porosity (84.4% ± 0.6), hydrophobic surface (136.39° ± 3.1 static water contact angle), and a water vapor permeability of around 4.37 × 10−5 g·m/m2·day·Pa were obtained. The prepared membrane can be compared to the MD membranes commercially available in terms of properties and economic value.
Highlights
The worldwide demand for freshwater for agricultural, industrial, and domestic applications is predicted to reach about 6900 billion m3 /day by the year 2030, which would surpass the present available freshwater resources by about 40% [1,2]
Images of the same electrospinning membrane post-treated by different techniques showed a different microstructure—a more open structure with aligned fibers formed by heating at 60 ◦ C
An excessive LiCl concentration seems to have a negative effect on the Rayleigh instability and increases the bending instability of the produced fibers, which facilities the formation of 3D fiber lumps
Summary
The worldwide demand for freshwater for agricultural, industrial, and domestic applications is predicted to reach about 6900 billion m3 /day by the year 2030, which would surpass the present available freshwater resources by about 40% [1,2]. Researchers aim to find alternative clean water sources. The desalination of surface (brackish and sea) waters has been targeted as the primary alternative source for freshwater. Conventional desalination techniques could be classified into thermal techniques and membrane-based techniques. Thermal techniques usually employ heat to increase the water temperature above the boiling point and to transform it into a vapor that can be transferred and condensed in another region of the plant, which include multi-stage flashing (MSF) [3], multi-effect distillation (MED) [4], and mechanical vapor compression evaporation (VC) [5]. Conventional membrane-based techniques usually incorporate the application of an external force to drive only the water particles through
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