Progress in the area of proton conducting polymer electrolyte membranes is intimately linked with the development of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, and is today largely driven by the insufficient properties of humidified Nafion membranes at temperatures above 100 8C. Recent developments in the field include new ionomers and hybrid membranes containing inorganic nanoparticles to contro...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were incorporated into alumina/polyethersulfone hollow fibre membranes to enhance the mechanical property and the efficiency of water treatment. Results show that the incorporation of CNTs can greatly limit the formation of large surface pores, decrease the void size in support layers and improve the porosity and pore connectivity of alumina/polyethersulfone membranes. A...

Water provision for developing countries is a critical issue as a vast number of lives are lost annually due to lack of access to safe drinking water. The presence and fate of inorganic trace contaminants is of particular concern. Trace inorganic contaminants have been found in elevated concentrations in drinking waters supplied directly from brackish groundwaters in developing countries. Desal...

Because of the emerging scarcity of oil resources and the demand for environmental protection, as a typical biofuel, biobutanol produced by biomass fermentation is critical for the development of renewable energy. Pervaporation is considered to be an attractive separation technology for both the recovery of butanol from fermentation broth and the dehydration of butanol from low-water content so...

Membrane separation is an alternative separation technology to the conventional method of filtration. Hence, it has attracted use in the purification and concentration of Chinese Herbal Medicine Extracts (CHMEs). The purpose of this work was to study the process of microfiltration of Tongbi liquor (TBL), a popular Chinese herbal drink, using ceramic membranes. Zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide...

In this work heat and mass transfer in tubular asymmetric ceramic membranes suitable for applications in membrane reactors have been investigated. An experimental matrix has been employed to quantify the heat and mass transfer in the membrane, which leads to the identification and validation of respective parameters in a comprehensive and consistent manner. Two types of membranes have been inve...

Eggshell membranes (ESMs) provide a unique, disulfide bond-rich surface. Thioglycolate reduction was used to generate thiol (-SH) groups on the ESM surface by S-S bond cleavage. The thiol-bearing ESMs (TESMs) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The fibrous network structure of the ESM is retained in the TESMs. TESMs adsorb both Se(IV) and Se(VI) but by dif...