Author/Authors :
Ghoreyshi، A.A نويسنده School of Chemical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran , , Nabian، N نويسنده Chemical Engineering Department, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran , , Rahimpour، A نويسنده Chemical Engineering Department, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran , , Shakeri، M نويسنده Mechanical Engineering Department, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran ,
Abstract :
In this study, polysulfone (PSF) flat membrane prepared via non-solvent phase
inversion method was employed in gas-liquid membrane contactor module to absorb
CO2. Two polymer concentrations of 16 wt% and 18 wt% were used in the dope solution
of fabricated membranes. The membranes were characterized in terms of
morphological structure and contact angle. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
analysis demonstrated that PSF membrane with polymer concentration of 16 wt% in the
dope solution has a porous layer with a combination of finger-like, sponge-like and
macrovoid structures, but the other membrane has a sponge-like structure. Also,
characterization results through atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle
measurement demonstrated that the porosity, surface roughness and hydrophobicity of
the PSF membranes decreased with an increase in polymer concentration. Evaluation
of mass transfer resistance displayed that the resistance of the PSF membrane with
polymer concentration of 18wt% in the dope solution is higher than that of the other
membrane. In addition, decreasing the polymer concentration significantly improved
CO2 absorption flux. At the absorbent flow rate of 9.7 ml/min, the CO2 absorption flux
of PSF membrane with 16 wt% polymer concentration was 2.17 times higher than the
absorption flux of the PSF with 18 wt% polymer concentration.
