Organic solvent resistant poly(ether-ether-ketone) nanofiltration membranes

João da Silva Burgal, Ludmila G. Peeva, Santosh Kumbharkar, Andrew Livingston*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

141 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this work a poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) membrane is presented for its suitability for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) applications using polar aprotic solvents, such as DMF and THF, high temperatures, and basic/acidic conditions. Four grades of PEEK polymer were tested and it was verified that different grades produced membranes with different performances; the post-phase inversion drying process of membrane fabrication was shown to be crucial in obtaining separation performance in the nanofiltration range. The degree of sulphonation (DS) was also important and was controlled to be in the range of 3.7-6.7wt%. The tightest membrane, produced from VESTAKEEP® 4000P and obtained after drying at 20°C from water, presented a permeance of 0.22Lh-1m-2bar-1 and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 400gmol-1 in THF, and a permeance of 0.07Lh-1m-2bar-1 and a MWCO of around 470gmol-1 in DMF.To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on a non-sulphonated and non-modified PEEK membrane capable of separations in the nanofiltration range and resistant to DMF and THF and to basic and acidic aqueous solutions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-116
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume479
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chemical resistance
  • Degree of sulphonation (DS)
  • Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN)
  • Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK)

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