Nanostructured Polymer Membranes, Volume 1 E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 817

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

This book is intended to serve as a "one-stop" reference resource for important research accomplishments in the area of nanostructured polymer membranes and their processing and characterizations. It will be a very valuable reference source for university and college faculties, professionals, post-doctoral research fellows, senior graduate students, and researchers from R&D laboratories working in the area of polymer nanobased membranes. The various chapters are contributed by prominent researchers from industry, academia and government/private research laboratories across the globe and comprise an up-to-date record on the major findings and observations in the field.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Preface

Chapter 1: Processing and Characterizations: State-of-the-Art and New Challenges

1.1 Membrane: Technology and Chemistry

1.2 Characterization of Membranes

1.3 Ceramic and Inorganic Polymer Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

1.4 Supramolecular Membranes: Synthesis and Characterizations

1.5 Organic Membranes and Polymers to Remove Pollutants

1.6 Membranes for CO

2

Separation

1.7 Polymer Nanomembranes

1.8 Liquid Membranes

1.9 Recent Progress in Separation Technology Based on Ionic Liquid Membranes

1.10 Membrane Distillation

1.11 Alginate-based Films and Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

References

Chapter 2: Membrane Technology and Chemistry

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Membrane Technology: Fundamental Concepts

2.3 Separation Mechanisms

2.4 Chemical Nature of Membrane

2.5 Surface Treatment of Membranes

2.6 Conclusions

References

Chapter 3: Characterization of Membranes

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Physical Methods for Characterizing Pore Size of Membrane

3.3 Membrane Chemical Structure

3.4 Conclusions

References

Chapter 4: Ceramic and Inorganic Polymer Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Recent Developments in Filler-doped Polymer Electrolytes

4.3 Methodology

4.4 Results and Discussion

4.5 Conclusions

Acknowledgment

References

Chapter 5: Supramolecular Membranes: Synthesis and Characterizations

5.1 Overview

5.2 Supramolecular Materials

5.3 Supramolecular Membranes

5.4 Membrane Fabrication Using Supramolecular Chemistry

5.5 Conclusions

References

Chapter 6: Organic Membranes and Polymers for the Removal of Pollutants

6.1 Membranes: Fundamental Aspects

6.2 Liquid-phase Polymer-based Retention (LPR)

6.3 Applications for Removal of Specific Pollutants

6.4 Future Perspectives

6.5 Conclusions

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 7: Membranes for CO

2

Separation

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Fundamentals of Membrane Gas Separation

7.3 Polymeric Membranes for CO

2

Separation

7.4 Mixed Matrix Membranes

7.5 Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes (SILMs) for CO

2

Separation

7.6 Conclusion

7.7 Overall Comparison and Future Outlook

Abbreviations

References

Chapter 8: Polymer Nanomembranes

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Materials

8.3 Nanomembrane Fabrication

8.4 Characterization

8.5 Applications

References

Chapter 9: Liquid Membranes

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Most Recent Developments

9.3 Liquid Membranes Based Separation Processes

9.4 Conclusion

References

Chapter 10: Recent Progress in Separation Technology Based on Ionic Liquid Membranes

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Ionic Liquid Properties

10.3 Bulk Ionic Liquid Membranes

10.4 Emulsified Ionic Liquid Membranes

10.5 Immobilized Ionic Liquid Membranes

10.6 Green Aspect of Ionic Liquids

10.7 Conclusions

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 11: Membrane Distillation

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Applications of Membrane Distillation Technology

11.3 Different Kinds of Membrane Distillation Configurations

11.4 Distillation Membranes

11.5 Transport Phenomena in MD

11.6 Conclusion

References

Chapter 12: Alginate-based Films and Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Recent Development

12.3 Applications

12.4 Conclusion

References

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Copyright

Contents

Begin Reading

List of Tables

Chapter 1

Table 3.1 Normalized adhesion forces for a range of colloid probes at a PSU/SPEEK membrane. (Reprinted from [46] with permission from Elsevier)

Chapter 4

Table 4.1 Activation energy, Ea, and pre-exponential constant, A, of polymer electrolytes obtained from Arrhenius plots.

Table 4.2 Heat of fusion and relative crystallinity of polymer electrolytes obtained from melting endotherm.

Table 4.3 The specific capacitance, coulombic efficiency, energy density and power density of NCPE-based EDLCs.

Chapter 5

Table 5.1 Gas permeabilities of PDMS [130], silicon-based glassy polymers [131], and PTMGP [132].

Table 5.2 Comparison of gas permeability coefficients of indan-containing poly(diphenylacetylenes) with PTMSP. The gas permeability coefficients were measured at 25 °C and are in the units of Barrer 10

–1

0

cm

3

(STP)-cm/cm

2

sec cm Hg.

Table 5.3 Gas diffusivity (D), solubility (S) and permeability (P) coefficients of PIM-1 and PIM-7 at 30 °C. Diffusivity coefficients are measured in 10

–

8

cm

2

s

–

1

, solubility coefficients are measured in 10

–

3

cm

3

cm

–

3

cmHg

–

1

, and permeability coefficients are measured in 10–10 cm

3

[STP] cm cm

–

2

s

–

1

cmHg

–

1

.

Chapter 6

Table 6.1 Typical values of pore size and applied pressure for main pressure-driven membrane methods [1].

Table 6.2 Maximum retention capacity at pH 7 of Cu

2+

, Cd

2+

, and Co

2+

of P(EI) 50% aqueous solution.

Chapter 7

Table 7.1 Values of the front factor k and the slope

n

of Robeson’s upper bound correlation [28].

Table 7.2 Chemical structure of some polymers used in CO

2

membrane separation [25, 31].

Table 7.3 CO

2

permeation properties for some polymers.

Table 7.4 Single gas CO

2

permeation properties of some polyimides.

Table 7.5 Mixed gas CO

2

permeation properties of some polyimides.

Table 7.6 Single gas CO

2

permeation properties of PSF-based membranes for CO

2

/CH

4

and CO

2

/N

2

separation.

Table 7.7 Single gas and mixed gas CO

2

permeation properties of PSF.

Table 7.8 CO

2

permeation properties of some polymer blend membranes in the literature. All measurements are for single gas except ‘b’ for mixed gas.

Table 7.9 Pure and mixed gas CO

2

/CH

4

selectivity results for PSF incorporating 20% Matrimid [64].

Table 7.10 CO

2

/N

2

and CO

2

/CH

4

separation performance of mixed matrix membranes.

Table 7.11 Ideal (pure gas) CO

2

/N

2

and CO

2

/CH

4

selectivity values of commonly used ILs.

Table 7.12 List of the synthesized ionic liquids by Hojniak

et al.

[105].

Table 7.13 Mixed gas CO

2

/N

2

and CO

2

/CH

4

selectivity values of commonly used ILs.

Table 7.14 Ionic liquid losses as a function of pressure and pore size [116].

Chapter 9

Table 9.1 Application of emulsion liquid membranes.

Table 9.2 Emulsions used in LMs for heavy metals removal.

Table 9.3 Supported liquid membrane for VOCs separation.

Table 9.4 Molten salt membranes for gas separation.

Table 9.5 Glass transition temperature, T

g

, of polymers [9].

Table 9.6 Materials, composition of hollow fiber liquid membranes.

Table 9.7 Supports for liquid membranes.

Table 9.8 Separation tasks, liquids and carriers of liquid membranes.

Chapter 10

Table 10.1 IL cations and anions most studied.

Table 10.2 Advantages and disadvantages of EIMs.

Chapter 11

Table 11.1 Comparison between MD and RO for desalination.

Table 11.2 Comparison between different MD configurations.

Table 11.3 Dominant mechanisms in mass transfer across the membrane in different MD configurations.

Table 11.4 Heat transfer in different regions of an MD configuration (if there is no resistance in cooling surface).

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Scrivener Publishing 100 Cummings Center, Suite 541J Beverly, MA 01915-6106

Publishers at Scrivener Martin Scrivener([email protected]) Phillip Carmical ([email protected])

Nanostructured Polymer Membranes

Volume 1: Processing and Characterization

Edited by

Visakh P.M. and Olga Nazarenko

Copyright © 2017 by Scrivener Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

Co-published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey, and Scrivener Publishing LLC, Beverly, Massachusetts.Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

ISBN 978-1-118-83173-1

Preface

Many recent research accomplishments in the area of polymer nanocomposite membrane materials are summarized in this book, Nanostructured Polymer Membranes: Processing and Characterizations. State-of-the-art on membrane technology and chemistry and new challenges being faced in the field are discussed. Among the topics reviewed are characterization of membranes; current techniques for the processing and characterization of ceramic and inorganic polymer membranes; supramolecular membranes; organic membranes and polymers for removal of pollutants; membranes for CO2 separation; polymer nanomembranes; liquid membranes; separation technology based on ionic liquid membranes; membrane distillation; and alginate-based membranes and films.

This book is intended to serve as a “one-stop” reference resource for important research accomplishments in the area of nanostructured polymer membranes and their processing and characterizations. It will be a very valuable reference source for university and college faculties, professionals, post-doctoral research fellows, senior graduate students, and researchers from R&D laboratories working in the area of polymer nanobased membranes. The various chapters are contributed by prominent researchers from industry, academia and government/private research laboratories across the globe and comprise an up-to-date record on the major findings and observations in the field.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the techniques and processes detailed in later chapters, along with the state of art, new challenges and opportunities in the field. In chapter 2, principles and fundamentals of membrane separation are presented in addition to a description of different types of membrane processes (pressure-driven membrane methods and liquid membranes) and the chemical and physical methods for membrane modification. Chapter 3 provides fundamental ideas about all types of characterization techniques for polymer-based nanomembranes such as FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy mass spectrometry and surface hydrophilicity. The next chapter mainly concentrates on the preparation, characterization and applications of ceramic and inorganic polymer membranes. Chapter 5 gives an overview of supramolecular membranes, primarily focusing on polymeric membranes and mixed matrix membranes for gas separation applications. Other topics discussed in this chapter are membranes synthesized from self-assembly, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking of block copolymer systems, small molecules, and nanoparticles; and a summary of recent research into gas membrane separations.

Chapter 6 explains organic membranes and polymers to remove pollutants. It provides fundamental aspects of membranes as well as processes, including membranes as electro-ultrafiltration, ultrafiltration coupled to ultrasound, flotation coupled to microfiltration, liquid-phase polymer-based retention and liquid surfactant membrane. The next chapter is essential for tracking the progress in membrane development. It is a comprehensive review of recent studies in CO2 separation using different technologies, CO2 permeation properties, and breakthroughs and challenges in developing efficient CO2 separation membranes. Chapter 8 reports the state-of-the-art on fabrication methods of polymeric nanomembranes according to their specific needs and illustrates the most useful materials, employing mostly glassy and rubbery polymers. Often, to enhance membrane properties or to prevent undesired behavior, the fabrication is followed by different kinds of surface treatments. The authors discuss recent investigations on mechanical, thermal and gas transport properties of nanomembranes that frequently reveal a different behavior with respect to the polymeric membranes of greater thickness. The next chapter presents an introduction to liquid membrane separation techniques such as emulsion liquid membranes, immobilized liquid membranes, salts liquid membranes, hollow fiber contained liquid membranes, bulk hybrid liquid membranes and bulk aqueous hybrid liquid membranes. The author of this chapter also discusses the theory behind liquid membranes, along with their material design, preparation, performance and stability, and their applications in the separation and removal of metal cations from a range of diverse matrices, gas separation, etc.

Chapter 10 provides an overview of the recent progress in separation technology based on ionic liquid membranes; moreover, it covers issues relevant to this technology such as methods of preparation, mechanisms of transport, stability and fields of application. Chapter 11 on membrane distillation provides comprehensive coverage of both the fundamentals and recent developments associated with the application, process design, and membrane fabrication in this field. The final chapter provides a comprehensive overview of general properties, recent developments, and applications of alginate-based films and membranes. Sodium alginate is water-soluble, nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, reproducible, and can yield coherent films or membranes upon casting or solvent evaporation.

In conclusion, the editors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the contributors of this book, whose excellent support made the successful completion of this venture possible. We are grateful to them for the commitment and sincerity they showed towards their contributions. Without their enthusiasm and support, the compilation of a book would not have been possible. We would like to thank all the reviewers who have taken their valuable time to make critical comments on each chapter. We also thank the publisher, John Wiley and Sons Ltd. and Scrivener Publishing, for recognizing the demand for a book on the increasingly important area of Nanostructured Polymer Membranes Processing and Characterization and handling such a new project, which many other publishers have yet to address.

Visakh. P. M.Olga NazarenkoSeptember 2016

Chapter 1Processing and Characterizations: State-of-the-Art and New Challenges

Visakh. P. M.

Research Assistant, Department of Ecology and Basic Safety, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia

Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

A brief account of various topics concerning the processing and characterization of nanostructured polymer membranes is presented in this chapter. The different topics that are discussed include membrane technology and chemical characterization of membranes; ceramic and inorganic polymer membranes preparation, characterization and applications; supramolecular membranes synthesis and characterizations; organic membranes and polymers to remove pollutants; membranes for CO2 separation; polymer nanomembranes; liquid membranes; recent progress in separation technology based on ionic liquid membranes; membrane distillation; and preparation, characterization and applications of alginate-based membranes and films.

Keywords: Nanostructured polymer membranes, membrane processing, membrane characterizations, supramolecular membranes, organic membranes, liquid membranes, separation technology, ionic liquid membranes

1.1 Membrane: Technology and Chemistry

Membranes are used in a broad range of applications such as protein fractionation, purification of drugs, separation of gaseous mixtures, sample simplification in analytical procedures, production of ultrapure water and wastewater treatment, among others [1–5]. The membrane can be defined as a selective barrier that allows some species to permeate the barrier while retaining others. Membrane can be symmetric or asymmetric membrane according to their macroscopic configuration. Thus, asymmetric membranes consist of two layers; the top one is a very thin dense layer and is commonly called the skin layer or active layer and determines the permeation properties. In particular, separation methods directed by pressure can be categorized into four major membrane processes: microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) [6, 7]. Liquid membrane processes are commonly identified as three main configuration types: bulk liquid membrane, surfactant liquid membrane (or emulsion liquid membrane) and supported liquid membrane. Membranes can be referred to as porous and dense, and this first classification permits defining the two main mass transport models through the membranes. In membrane processes, the retained or rejected species accumulate near the membrane surface and as a consequence concentration polarization is produced.

According to the transport mechanisms, the separation methods by liquid membrane can be divided into six basic mechanisms of transport: simple transport, simple transport with chemical reaction in strip solution, facilitated transport, coupled counter-transport, coupled co-transport and active transport. The range of materials used for nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes is much smaller than that used for microfiltration and ultrafiltration, and is limited to polymers. Membrane material is required to be resistant to operation conditions and suitable for specific application. In many cases, additives are added to membrane phase during the fabrication to increase the permeability or reduce the fouling. Inorganic membranes have high selectivity and high permeability as well as thermal, chemical and mechanical stability but the cost of these are very high in comparison with polymer membranes. Organic and inorganic membranes can be modified for different applications by changes in the material chemical properties or by changes of pore size [8]. The above can be accomplished using methods such as chemical oxidation, incorporation of additives into the membrane matrix, plasma treatment, classical organic reactions, polymer grafting, interpenetrating polymer network, surfactant modification, self-assembly of the nanoparticles, among others [9].

Plasma surface treatment usually refers to a plasma reaction that either results in modification of the molecular structure of the surface, or atomic substitution. For example, simple inert gas [10], nitrogen, or oxygen plasmas have been used to increase the surface hydrophilicity of membranes [11], and ammonia plasmas have successfully yielded functionalized polysulfone membranes [12]. There are several potential advantages for the use of enzymes in membrane modification. Currently, the pressure-driven membrane processes are widely used in water treatment, biotechnology, food industry, medicine, and other fields [13].

One of the main problems arising from the operation of the membrane units is membrane fouling, which seriously hampers the applications of membrane technologies [14]. New membrane modification methods have been proposed, including the modification of membrane surfaces via microswelling for fouling control in drinking water [15], hydrogel surface modification of reverse osmosis membranes [16], modification of Nafion membrane using fluorocarbon surfactant for all vanadium redox flow batteries [17], modification of ultrafiltration membranes via interpenetrating polymer networks for removal of boron from aqueous solution [18], among others.

1.2 Characterization of Membranes

Membrane morphology characterization is one of the indispensable components of the field of membrane research. Physical and chemical properties of membranes can be characterized with different laboratory techniques. Several microscopic techniques, both electronic as scanning and transmission electron microscopies, and atomic, as atomic force microscopy, have been used to analyze the pore structure and pore size distribution of the membrane. Microscopy methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM), are the most direct methods to characterize the membrane pore structure. SEM can be used in various pore size characterization studies to visually inspect pore sizes and shapes. The AFM has proven itself to be a useful and versatile tool in the field of surface characterization. Porometry measurements can also give information about the pore size distribution (PSD) of membrane surface area [19].

Gas adsorption is one of the most popular methods and is generally used for the surface characterization and structural properties of porous materials, allowing the determination of their surface area, pore volume, pore size distribution and adsorption energy distribution of polymer membranes. One of the most promising methods is permporometry, where a mixture of non-condensable gas and condensable vapor is fed to a porous membrane and the permeation rate of non-condensable gas is measured [20]. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is widely used in structural characterization of membrane surfaces. With recent advances in the technology, the instrument has become simplified and some of the problems are reduced [21]. Raman spectroscopy technique usually employs a laser source and the scattered light and analyzes in terms of wavelength, intensity and polarization. Raman scattering is capable of detecting elastic vibrations of an entire nanoparticle, therefore Raman scattering is good for detecting nanoparticles on the membrane surface [22].

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis can be helpful for both membrane characterization and foulant characterization. For example, Sile-Yüksel et al. [23] used EDS analysis to determine the location of silver nanoparticles in different polymer membrane matrix. Corneal et al. [24] coated tubular ceramic membranes with manganase oxide nanoparticles. They examined the coating layer using SEM-EDS. With the help of EDS analysis they observed that the manganase oxide nanoparticles were not just successfully placed on the surface but also penetrated the membrane matrix. Soffer et al. [25] used EDS analysis to show colloidal iron fouling on ultrafiltration membrane surface. Long-term fouling of a reverse osmosis membrane was examined by Melián-Martel et al. [26]. The measuring method must be adapted according to charge places whether it is on the surface or inside the pores.

1.3 Ceramic and Inorganic Polymer Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

Liquid electrolytes are liquid state electrolyte used to conduct the electricity. However, these conventional liquid electrolytes possess several disadvantages such as leakages of corrosive solvent and harmful gas, electrolytic degradation of electrolyte, formation of lithium dendrite growth, poor dimensional and mechanical stabilities, slow evaporation due to the gel state of polymer electrolyte, low safety performances, narrow potential window, poor interfacial stability and reduction in thermal, electrical and electrochemical stabilities as well [27]. Ionic liquids also offer some fascinating advantages, such as excellent chemical, thermal and electrochemical stabilities, high ionic conductivity due to high ion concentration, good oxidative stability and superior ion mobility as well as high cohesive energy density [28].

Krawiec et al. found that the particle size of filler is a vital parameter to govern the conductivity of the polymer electrolytes. They reported that the conductivity of nanosized Al2O3 added polymer electrolytes was higher about an order of magnitude that that of micrometer-sized Al2O3. High surface area to volume ratio of nanoparticles has become a driving force in the development of nanotechnology in various research fields, especially in materials science. The small particle size of the fillers can improve the homogeneity in the sample and its electrochemical properties [29]. The higher conductivity of nanoscale filler compared to micro-sized filler is also attributed to the rapid formation of the space charge region between the grains [30].

Mica plays a role in reducing resin costs, enhancing processability and dissipating heat in exothermic thermosetting reaction. Other particulate fillers, such as graphite, carbon black, and aluminium flakes, are used to reduce mold shrinkage or to minimize the electrostatic charging. Electrochemical devices, especially batteries, show a wide range of electrical and electronic applications. These devices can not only be applied in portable electronic and personal communication devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, MP3 players, and PDAs, but also in hybrid electrical vehicles (EVs) and start–light–ignition (SLI), which serves as a traction power source for electricity [31]. The properties of the final alumina depend on the crystalline structure, morphology and microstructure of the polymorph. Therefore, many attempts have been studied with respect to their transformation mechanisms, changes in porosity, specific surface area, surface structure, chemical reactivity and the defect crystal structure of polymorph [32].

1.4 Supramolecular Membranes: Synthesis and Characterizations

Supramolecular chemistry has typically been focused within the inorganic field, with our understanding of porous silicas [33] leading to breakthroughs in electrochemical energy storage. New approaches have been designed and investigated to improve the membranes performance; this involves the incorporation of porous composite materials. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of supramolecular coordination polymers that have emerged in the literature over two decades ago, when they could be identified by single-crystal X-ray crystallography [34–38].

The MOF structures are obtained by a self-assembling process starting from metal ions that assemble together with linker molecules. MOFs are successfully synthesized from solvothermal reactions with metal and organic building blocks which are dissolved in organic solvents and heated up to 130 °C. In addition to the conventional heating used for solvothermal reactions, MOFs can be synthesized using electrochemistry, mechanochemistry and ultrasonic methods. Because MOFs can reversibly absorb carbon dioxide gas, they are promising materials for the selective capture of carbon from the atmosphere and flue gas. The large quadrupole moment of carbon dioxide molecules causes them to interact with the framework, increasing the uptake of the gas over other inert adsorbents such as zeolites. Polycrystalline thin films are made from direct synthesis where a bare substrate is used with the appropriate mother growth solution for the given MOF, heat treated as required for solvothermal synthesis. The method involves the metal and organic linker crossing a porous membrane and crystallizing at the interface [39].

Zeolites are widely used in industry for water purification, adsorbents, catalysts and gas separations. They are naturally found but can also be synthesized to incorporate a range of small inorganic and organic species. Supramolecular chemistry describes chemical systems comprising a number of assembled molecular subunits or components arranged in spatial organizations using noncovalent bonding like hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, and hydrophobicity. The first part of this chapter will focus on supramolecular chemistry concepts in polymeric membranes, followed by a short discussion on how metal coordination and host-guest chemistry play important roles in mixed-matrix membranes. Membranes fabricated via supramolecular chemistry are rarely reported for gas separations, and are more common for liquid separation or purification and filtration membranes. Polytrimethylsilylpropyne (PTMSP) membranes operate as size-selective membranes. Meanwhile, when PTMSP membranes are used to isolate hydrocarbons from mixtures containing condensable hydrocarbon vapors and permanent gases, these membranes operate in the reverse-selective mode [40]. Despite its unique property of high hydrocarbon/gas selectivity and permeability, PTMSP has apparently found no industrial applications. This is due in part to PTMSP being highly soluble in liquid hydrocarbons [41, 42].

Additive incorporation into polymer matrices remains one of the most common ways in which supramolecular chemistry is observed in membranes. For example, Merkel et al. reported that the incorporation of nonporous fumed silica nanoparticles into a PTMSP polymer matrix enhanced gas permeability [43]. Schmidt et al. used a bottom-up approach to form supramolecular nanofibers inside a scaffold to prepare stable polymer-microfiber/supramolecular-nanofiber composites for filter applications [44]. Upon solvent evaporation, and filtration over commercial microfiltration syringes, three-dimensional supramolecular networks were formed within cellulose acetate membranes that are suitable for inexpensive and fast water separations.

1.5 Organic Membranes and Polymers to Remove Pollutants

A membrane is a thin planar structure or interphase that separates two phases and permits mass transfer between the phases. Membranes can be classified into two main groups: (1) biological membranes and (2) artificial or synthetic membranes. The polymer membranes are the main type of membranes in the market because polymeric materials are easier to process and less expensive [45, 46].

The separation of various components of a mixture is related directly to their relative transport rate within the membrane, which is determined by their diffusivity and solubility in the membrane material. Ultrafiltration membranes are used in electrodialysis pretreatment, electrophoretic paint, cheese whey treatment, juice clarification recovery of textile sizing agents, separation of oil/water emulsion, water treatment, and reverse osmosis pretreatment. The permeate is the portion of the fluid that has passed through the membrane and the retentate, or concentrate, is the portion containing the constituents that have been rejected by the membrane [47–49].

For a membrane separation method to be denominated as a hybrid separation method, changes beyond the simple incorporation of a different configuration or the simple change in a sequence in a separation line should be incorporated. The main disadvantage of flotation lies in the fact that the removal efficiency may be reduced if some of the undesired substances are not sufficiently hydrophobic, thus remaining in the bulk dispersion or solution [50]. Consequently, in the flotation coupled with microfiltration, the solid particles are partially removed by flotation, while clean water is obtained from the membrane module. Fewer solid particles remaining in the dispersion are then deposited on the membrane’s surface, resulting in decreased membrane fouling [51, 52]. Fouling has a direct impact on operating costs because a large part of the energy consumption is required to overcome fouling resistance and for periodic cleaning operations [53]. Geckeler et al. carried out the first experimental advances and analytical applications related with this technique [54–56]. Later, many research groups worked on the evaluation and description of retention properties of different water-soluble polymers (WSPs) for environmental and analytical applications [57–65].