High Performance Regenerated Cellulose Membranes from Trimethylsilyl Cellulose
Type
ThesisAuthors
Ali, OlaAdvisors
Peinemann, Klaus-Viktor
Committee members
Hilke, RolandNunes, Suzana Pereira

KAUST Department
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) DivisionDate
2013-05Embargo End Date
2014-06-12Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/294156
Metadata
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At the time of archiving, the student author of this thesis opted to temporarily restrict access to it. The full text of this thesis became available to the public after the expiration of the embargo on 2014-06-12.Abstract
Regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes are extensively used in medical and pharmaceutical separation processes due to their biocompatibility, low fouling tendency and solvent resistant properties. They typically possess ultrafiltration and microfiltration separation characteristics, but recently, there have been attempts to widen their pool of applications in nanofiltration processes. In this work, a novel method for preparing high performance composite RC membranes was developed. These membranes reveal molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO) of less than 250 daltons, which possibly put them ahead of all commercial RC membranes and in competition with high performance nanofiltration membranes. The membranes were prepared by acidic hydrolysis of dip-coated trimethylsilyl cellulose (TMSC) films. TMSC, with a degree of silylation (DS) of 2.8, was prepared from microcrystalline cellulose by reaction with hexamethyldisilazane under the homogeneous conditions of LiCl/DMAC solvent system. Effects of parameters, such as coating solution concentration and drying rates, were investigated. It was concluded that higher TMSC concentrations as well as higher solvent evaporation rates favor better MWCOs, mainly due to increase in the selective layer thickness. Successful cross-linking of prepared membranes with glyoxal solutions, in the presence of boric acid as a catalyst, resulted in MWCOs less than 250 daltons. The suitability of this crosslinking reaction for large scale productions was already proven in the manufacturing of durable-press fabrics. For us, the inexpensive raw materials as well as the low reaction times and temperatures were of interest. Moreover, the non-toxic nature of glyoxal is a key advantage in medical and pharmaceutical applications. The membranes prepared in this work are strong candidates for separation of small organic solutes from organic solvents streams in pharmaceutical industries. Their hydrophilicity, compared to typical nanofiltration membranes, offer high fouling resistance and higher fluxes in aqueous applications.Citation
Ali, O. (2013). High Performance Regenerated Cellulose Membranes from Trimethylsilyl Cellulose. KAUST Research Repository. https://doi.org/10.25781/KAUST-25BE5ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.25781/KAUST-25BE5