Journal of Membrane Science, Vol.105, No.1-2, 31-41, 1995
Spinning of Modified Poly(2,6-Dimethyl-L,4-Oxyphenylene) into Gas Separation Hollow Fibers and Assembling of Prototype Separators
This paper deals with the study and realization of dry-wet spinning of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-oxyphenylene) functionalized with both trimethylsilyl and hydroxyethyl groups in order to produce hollow fiber membranes for the O-2 enrichment of air. Two types of fiber were produced : one with an integral, defect-free skin but low O-2 permeance, and the other with a non-integral skin affording high permeance but low O-2/N-2 selectivity. The latter fiber was corrected to useful selectivity by sealing the skin with an original surface treatment. These fibers were assembled into prototype modules that can produce O-2 enriched air (up to 38% of O-2) with high fluxes (up to 0.55 Nm(3)/h per m(2) of membrane). The construction of prototype modules required the solving of several problems concerning the assembling of the fibers, i.e. gluing, cutting, defect checking and module fixing. Separators so obtained showed very promising performances when compared to a commercial system.