Influence of drying method on morphology and properties of asymmetric cellulose hollow fiber membrane

Using a dry/wet spinning process, asymmetric cellulose hollow fiber membranes (CHFM) were prepared from a dope composed of cellulose/N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide/water. The formation mechanism for the finger-like macrovoids at the inner portion of as-spun fibers was explained. Naturally drying and three solvent exchange drying methods were tried to investigate their influence on morphology and properties of CHFM. It was found that the ethanol-hexane exchange drying was an appropriate method to minimize morphology change of the as-spun CHFM, whereas the naturally drying caused the greatest shrinkage of the fibers that made the porous membrane become dense. The result, CHFM from ethanol-hexane exchange drying performed the highest gas permeation rate but gas permeation of the naturally dried membrane could not be detectable. The resultant CHFM from the ethanol-hexane exchange drying also showed acceptable, mechanical properties, thus it was proposed to be an appropriate method for gas separation purpose. The experimental results supported the proposed drying mechanism of CHFM. The free water would evaporate or be replaced by a solvent that subsequently would evaporate but the bonded water would remain in the membrane. What dominated the changes of membrane morphology during drying should be. the molecular affinities of cellulose-water, water-solvent and solvent-solvent. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel cobalt-free oxygen permeable membrane

A series of cobalt-free and low cost perovskite oxygen permeable membranes based on BaCexFe1-xO3-delta (BCF) oxides was successfully synthesized and the membrane showed both high oxygen permeability and high stability under reductive atmosphere, which will be most suitable for constructing a membrane reactor for selective oxidation of light hydrocarbons to syngas or high value corresponding oxygenates.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane

A high quality pure hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane was successfully synthesized on an alpha-Al2O3 support by a novel microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis (MARS) method. Influence of synthesis conditions, such as synthesis time, synthesis procedure, etc., on the formation of hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane by MAHS method was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas permeation measurements. The synthesis of hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane by MAHS method only needed 45 min and synthesis was more than 8 times faster than by the conventional hydrothermal synthesis (CHS) method. A pure hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane was easily synthesized by MAHS method, while a zeolite membrane, which consisted of NaX zeolite, NaA zeolite and hydroxy-sodalite zeolite, was usually synthesized by CHS method. The effect of preparation procedures had a dramatic impact on the formation of hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane and a single-stage synthesis procedure produced a pure hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane. The pure hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane synthesized by MARS method was found to be well inter-grown and the thickness of the membrane was 6-7 mum. Gas permeation results showed that the hydrogen/n-butane permselectivity of the hydroxy-sodalite zeolite membrane was larger than 1000. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of metal-containing molecular sieves and their catalytic properties in the selective oxidation of cyclohexane

Three types of metal-containing molecular sieves with AFI, AEL and CHA structures (Me = Co, Mn, Cr and V) were synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by XRD, XRF, TG, TPR, NH3-TPD and FT-IR. It was revealed that metals were incorporated into the framework of molecular sieves and induced the presence of charge centers. Both cobalt and manganese in the framework of AIPO-5, AlPO-11 and SAPO-34 were not reducible before the structure collapse. The redox behaviours of these catalysts in cyclohexane oxidation at 403 K using O-2 as oxidant were examined. CoAPO-11 exhibited best activity and good selectivities for the monofunctional oxidation products (88.5%). Cyclohexanol was the major product over most catalysts, whereas for Cr-containing molecular sieves, high selectivity of cyclohexanone was observed. Investigation of reaction mechanism based on CoAPO-11 and CrAPO-5 catalysts indicated that the decomposition of cyclohexyl hydroperoxide (CHHP), the intermediate in cyclohexane oxidation, followed the pathway: cyclohexanone <-- CHHP --> cyclohexanol -->cyclohexanone. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.