Issue 3, 2014

The ionic liquid [EMIM]OAc as a solvent to fabricate stable polybenzimidazole membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration

Abstract

We have provided two feasible methods to prepare stable organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes by chemically cross-linking the polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes fabricated from environmentally benign ionic liquids for the first time. A glutaraldehyde (GA)–water solution and a 1,2,7,8-diepoxyoctane (DEO)–n-heptane solution were employed to cross-link PBI membranes. The effects of these cross-linking agents on membrane stability and separation performance toward various solvents, including polar aprotic solvents, have been carefully examined. The GA cross-linking method, with little consumption of traditional organic solvents and energy, yielded a PBI membrane with a high and steady ethanol flux [3.69 L (m2 bar h)−1] and ethyl acetate flux [5.21 L (m2 bar h)−1]. Although PBI membranes cross-linked by DEO showed lower ethanol and ethyl acetate fluxes, they displayed impressive stability in aggressive solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Overall, PBI membranes cross-linked by both agents exhibited reasonable rejections which varied slightly from solvent to solvent due to different solute–solvent–membrane interactions. This study not only offers a new range of membrane materials and fabrication approaches for OSN, but will also enhance membrane-based green technology for the recovery of organic solvents.

Graphical abstract: The ionic liquid [EMIM]OAc as a solvent to fabricate stable polybenzimidazole membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Aug 2013
Accepted
25 Nov 2013
First published
26 Nov 2013

Green Chem., 2014,16, 1383-1392

The ionic liquid [EMIM]OAc as a solvent to fabricate stable polybenzimidazole membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration

D. Y. Xing, S. Y. Chan and T. Chung, Green Chem., 2014, 16, 1383 DOI: 10.1039/C3GC41634H

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