Preparation of Mesoporous Carbon Membranes for Ultrafiltration with Properties of Environmental Materials

Abstract

Ultrafiltration carbon membrane is an important kind of environmental materials for removal of particular and macromolecular pollutants. The mesoporous carbon membranes were synthesized via sol-gel synthesis followed by supercritical drying and carbonization. The formaldehyde and resorcinol were used as original precursor. The membrane was analyzed using nitrogen adsorption. It was found that the carbon membrane was mesoporous material. The pure gases of H2, N2 and CO2 were used to characterize the selective and integrity of the carbon membrane. The gas permeance through the mesoporous carbon membrane is predominantly governed by the Knudsen mechanism. The pure water is 13.4 L•m-2•h-1 and the molecular weight cut-off is about 2000.