`DESIGN OF POLYMERIC NANOCOMPOSITE MEMBRANE FOR SEPARATION PROCESSES

Abstract

Sulfur-containing compounds are well-known pollutants in fuels. Because of concerns about catalyst poisoning and environmental issues, it is crucial to remove these substances before commercial usage. Deep desulfurization of transportation fuels is therefore currently an urgent problem, and numerous attempts have been made in this direction. Membrane desulfurization can be a good alternative to the traditional hydrodesulfurization method which is not an economically profitable and efficient process. In this research work, MOF-5 was synthesized and doped with different transition metals and was further incorporated as fillers in the PVDF matrix using phase inversion and spray coating methods. Membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and water contact angle measurements. To conduct the desulfurization process separate solutions of thiophene and dibenzothiophene (DBT) in octane as model oil were used. The separation performances of fabricated membranes were evaluated by removal efficiency and permeation flux which were calculated from the results of the experiments. The results show that MOF-5/Ag had the best thiophene separation efficiency - 84.62% due to its higher coordination geometry and electron density. All membranes were not selective to DBT so its concentration after the process did not decrease.