CO2 absorption through PP/fSiO2 nanocomposite hollow fiber membrane contactor

Wetting of polymeric hollow fiber membranes by chemical absorbents is one of the main challenges of gasliquid membrane contactors. This study explored an appropriate method to fabricate a superhydrophobic polypropylene (PP) hollow fiber membrane by incorporating fluorinated silica nanoparticles (fSiO2 NPs) on the PP membrane surface. The effect of the hydrophobic agent on the water repellent properties of the composite membrane was studied by varying (1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane/ tetraethylorthosilicate) (PFOTES/TEOS) molar ratio from 0 to 1. The composite membranes were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), contact angle, mechanical strength and static wettability. The obtained results showed that the surface hydrophobicity and mechanical strength of the composite membranes increased compared to pure ones. The contact angle of 156° was obtained when the (PFOTES/ TEOS) molar ratio was 0.5. Furthermore, the CO2 absorption experiment was done to evaluate the performance of the fabricated membranes in a gas-liquid membrane contactor. The obtained results showed that the PP/fSiO2 composite membrane has more potential to be used in gas-liquid membrane contactors than commonly used polymeric membranes