Production of salicylic acid in a three compartment bipolar membrane electrodialysis configuration

Rottiers T,Van der B Bruggen,Pinoy L 한국공업화학회 2017 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.54 No.-

Salicylic acid is nowadays produced by the Kolbe-Schmitt reaction. Using this method, sodium salicylate is converted into salicylic acid by the addition of sulphuric acid. Electrodialysis is proposed for this production process and avoids the use of sulphuric acid and the production of an acidic sodium sulphate waste stream. The low solubility of salicylic acid in water can be overcome by using mixtures of water and a primary alcohol. However, preliminary results have indicated that bipolar membranes of large dimensions cannot be used in direct contact with these solvent mixtures. In this paper, a three compartment configuration is proposed, which resolves this problem by enclosing the solvent mixture with two cation-exchange membranes. An optimization of this configuration was performed by systematically varying different operating parameters. As the co-solvent, the use of methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol was tested. The results indicate that a high salicylate concentration, a low co-solvent concentration of 1-propanol and a low base concentration are the most optimal settings.

Separation of a high-value pharmaceutical compound from waste ethanol by nanofiltration

M. Brito Martı´nez,B. Van der Bruggen,Z. Rodriguez Negrin,P. Luis Alconero 한국공업화학회 2012 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.18 No.5

Recovery of the high-value active pharmaceutical ingredient 1-(5-bromo-fur-2-il)-2-bromo-2-nitroethane, referred as G-1 in this work, from ethanol solution was studied by using nanofiltration (NF), with the objective of closing the production cycle. A recovery of G-1 around 90% was obtained,offering the self-made membranes with 25% and 27% PES and the commercial membrane NF270(FilmTec, Dow) the most promising results in terms of flux of ethanol through the membrane. These membranes were considered in the process design of a real scale system, showing the technical and economic viability of NF for G-1 recovery.

Adapting the release characteristics of aluminum phosphide from membrane-coated rice tablets by using activated carbon nanoparticles

S. Solhi,E. Jashni,S.M. Hosseini,B. Van der Bruggen,H. Solhi,A.R. Khodabakhshi 한국공업화학회 2018 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.58 No.-

Membrane-coated tables were prepared to control the release rate of aluminum phosphide from rice tablets when this tablet comes into contact with water in the stomach. Mixed matrix polyvinyl chloride-co-activated carbon nanoparticles (ACNPs) membranes was used as a thin film to coat the rice tablets. The effect of ACNPs as additive in membrane matrix on release behavior of aluminum phosphide was evaluated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction patterns showed that nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in the prepared coatings. The membrane water contact angle was enhanced from 55° to 80° in the presence of ACNPs. The tear resistance of the prepared membranes was also improved from 4.34 to 5.01 (grf/mic) by using ACNPs. The membrane-coated tablets showed a controlled aluminum phosphide release rate compared to pristine rice tablet without cover. The fastest aluminum phosphide release rate for all samples is related to the first five days. In addition, the half-time and life-time of membrane-coated tablets were declined by an increase of the ACNPs ratio up to 15 wt%. Swelling of the fabricated cover in aqueous environment led to a decrease of the aluminum phosphide release rate.

Novel composite graphene oxide/chitosan nanoplates incorporated into PES based nanofiltration membrane: Chromium removal and antifouling enhancement

E. Bagheripour,A.R. Moghadassi,S.M. Hosseini,B. Van der Bruggen,F. Parvizian 한국공업화학회 2018 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.62 No.-

In this work, novel nanofiltration membranes with outstanding performance and antifouling properties were fabricated by incorporating composite graphene oxide/chitosan (GOC) nanoplates into the membrane structure. GOC composite nanoplates were prepared by surface modification of GO with chitosan. The GOC nanoplates were then introduced as additives in a polymeric phase in different concentrations (up to 1%) in view of membrane synthesis. these membranes were thoroughly characterized and assessed for their Na2SO4 and CrSO4 rejection and water flux. Furthermore, the antifouling performance of GO and GOC filled membranes in high concentration (1 wt%) was investigated. Modified membranes with addition of GOCs showed a higher hydrophilicity, pure water flux and rejection, and a smoother surface compared to a bare PES and a GO incorporated membrane. SEM surface images indicated a more uniformed distribution of GOCs at a high loading rate (1 wt%) compared to GO. Due to the uniform dispersion of GOCs, a better antifouling performance was observed than for GO filled membranes. The results indicate that surface modification of GO with chitosan can enhance the membrane performance and properties, due to availability of sites with higher activity.

Embedding TiO₂ nanoparticles versus surface coating by layer-by-layer deposition on nanoporous polymeric films

Kim, J.,Sotto, A.,Chang, J.,Nam, D.,Boromand, A.,Van der Bruggen, B. Elsevier 2013 Microporous and mesoporous materials Vol.173 No.-

Hybrid polymeric films based on titania (TiO<SUB>2</SUB>) nanoparticles on a polyethersulfone (PES) support were obtained by embedding nanoparticles, by dipping in a single layer and by layer-by-layer assembly. First, TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles were doped into a polymeric film during phase-inversion. The permeate flux of TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-embedded membranes in (nano)filtration was higher than for the bare PES membrane in the ultralow concentration range of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles (0.035-0.125wt.%). At the highest concentration of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles tested (0.375wt.%), however, the permeate flux decreased significantly. Compared to the TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-embedded membrane, the permeate flux of TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-deposited membranes prepared by dipping in one single layer was relatively low. After applying layer-by-layer coating, the permeate flux increased considerably as the number of coating layers was increased to >10. SEM images showed that addition of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles during phase inversion resulted in larger finger-like pores in the membrane structure, without changing the surface structure. TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-deposited PES membranes prepared by the layer-by-layer coating proved to have a porous coating layer of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles, covering the surface completely. The surface of TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-deposited films proved to be less rough than that of the bare PES membranes. Release of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles from the membrane surface was not observed during cross-flow filtration, indicative of strong binding of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles on the membrane surface. Similar rejections of humic acid were observed for bare PES membranes and TiO<SUB>2</SUB>-multilayer coated PES membranes, confirming that the membrane structure was not damaged by increasing the number of coating layers of TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanoparticles on the membrane surface.

A new outlook on membrane enhancement with nanoparticles: The alternative of ZnO

Balta, S.,Sotto, A.,Luis, P.,Benea, L.,Van der Bruggen, B.,Kim, J. Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co 2012 Journal of membrane science Vol.389 No.-

Although several studies explored the use of nanoparticles as additives in membrane structures, mixed matrix membranes still suffer from difficulties in synthesis and applications. In this paper, a new outlook on enhancement of membranes with nanoparticles is proposed by using ZnO as an alternative to TiO<SUB>2</SUB>. Although ZnO has attractive features that potentially could fill the objectives of mixed matrix membranes with lower cost and better performance, challenges in development remain. This paper investigates the synthesis of ZnO enhanced membranes and evaluates the performance of mixed matrix membranes with ZnO nanoparticles. Polyethersulfone (PES) membranes manufactured by diffusion induced phase inversion in N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) using a range of procedures were blended with ZnO nanoparticles in a wide range of concentrations from ultralow to high (0.035-4wt%). It was shown that the new membrane materials embedded with ZnO nanoparticles have significantly improved membrane features. The influence of the ZnO nanoparticles on the characteristics of PES/ZnO membranes was investigated with microscopic observations, contact angle measurement, filtration experiments, fouling resistance determination and observation of the rejection of selected dyes. The results showed an overall improvement compared to the neat membranes in terms of permeability as well as dye rejection and fouling resistance by adding ZnO nanoparticles even in small and ultralow concentrations.