Specialist Group on Membrane Technology - IWA

Recent work at the R&D Center for Membrane Technology (CMT) at Chung Yuan University onthe characterization of TFC NF/RO membranes using PAS coupled with a slow positron beam wasfound to be promising, and PAS is expected to be a highly efficient and effective technique in thecharacterization of TFC membranes used in different membrane applications. PAS also haspotential for characterizing NF/RO membranes after contamination and swelling. With the aid ofaccessory detectors and facilities, PAS can be adopted for quantifying the depth profiles offunctional groups in virgin and contaminated NF/RO membranes in the wet-state, and this iscurrently being conducted at CMT.The characterization of chemical compositions is usually analyzed by attenuated totalreflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Rutherford backscatteringspectrometry (RBS). These techniques are not only applied to characterization of the chemicalstructure of the membrane but also of the composition of contaminants on the membrane surface.Details of the advances in characterization of chemical compositions for NF/RO membrane will beintroduced in the Part II of this special topic in next issue of the IWA-SGMT Newsletter.References[1] Schäfer, A.I., A.G. Fane, T.D. Waite. Nanofiltration: Principles and Applications. ElsevierLtd., Oxford, UK (2005).[2] Shimazu, A., K. Ikeda, T. Miyazaki, Y. Ito. Application of positron annihilation technique toreverse osmosis membrane materials. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 58, 555–561 (2000).[3] Kim, S.H., S.Y. Kwak, T. Suzuki. Positron annihilation spectroscopic evidence to demonstratethe flux-enhancement mechanism in morphology-controlled thin-film-composite (TFC)membrane. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39, 1764–1770 (2005).[4] Boussu, K., J. De Baerdemaeker, C. Dauwe, M. Weber, K.G. Lynn, D. Depla, S. Aldea, I.F.J.Vankelecom, C. Vandecasteele, B. Van der Bruggen. Physico-chemical characterization ofnanofiltration membranes. Chem. Phys. Chem. 8, 370–379 (2007).[5] Tung, K.L., Y.C. Jean, D. Nanda, W.S. Hung, C.H. Lo, K.R. Lee, J.Y. Lai. Characterization ofmultilayer nanofiltration membranes by positron annihilation spectroscopy. J. Membrane Sci.343, 147–156 (2009).Author: Kuo-Lun (Allan) TungDirector/ProfessorR&D Center for MembraneTechnologyDepartment of Chemical EngineeringChung Yuan UniversityTaoyuan, Taiwankuolun@cycu.edu.tw_______________________________________________________________________________________________________IWA <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong> on Membrane Technology: 25Newsletter No. 1, June 2011