Enhancement of ch4 selectivity by mixed matrix membrane incorporated with surface-etched and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane grafted halloysite nanotubes
In this study, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated from polysulfone (PSf) and inorganic filler which is halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The embedding of the HNTs gave CH4 a more difficult gas path thus improving the gas separation. The modified HNTs were tested whether they are effective in r...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42549/1/ABSTRACT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42549/2/FULLTEXT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42549/ |
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| Summary: | In this study, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated from polysulfone (PSf) and inorganic filler which is halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The embedding of the HNTs gave CH4 a more difficult gas path thus improving the gas separation. The modified HNTs were tested whether they are effective in reducing the interfacial defects and able to help in improving the overall membrane properties. Prior to the incorporation, the HNTs underwent two types of modifications which are surface-etched which involved alkali etching and silanation with 3-APTES and comparative studies are carried out between these two methods. 1 wt% to 5 wt% of each type of HNTs were embedded in the membranes. Through FTIR it can be seen that the modifications of HNTs have successfully took place which can be confirmed by the presence of peak 1347 cm-1 for surface-etched HNTs. This peak caused by hydroxyl vibration which shows the presence of adsorbed water molecules. Besides, the intensity of the bending vibration of the Al-OH is reduced on surface-etched HNTs which is due to the breakage of Si-O bond on the etching site. For the membrane performance after embedded with the modified HNTs, the tensile strength of mixed matrix membrane with modified HNTs shows an increment compared to membranes with raw HNTs. The cross-section images of the membranes were taken by using SEM and it can be seen that lower weight percent of HNTs embedded shows less agglomeration in the membranes compared to the higher percentage of HNTs. Membranes with surface-etched HNTs shows better performance than the other types of HNTs since they have better selectivity compared to the others. It can be concluded that incorporation of lower weight percentage which is 1 wt% of the inorganic filler resulted in a better performance of the membrane since it can easily disperse in the membrane and reduce agglomeration. |
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