Structure changes and water filtration properties of electrospun polyamide nanofibre membranes.
Nanofibre membranes are studied extensively in water treatment. Inappropriate storage, however, could alter their performance, e.g. regarding water filtration. This shows the need for investigating this effect in more detail so as to offer a solution for long-term behaviour and stability. In this study, polyamide nanofibre membranes were treated under different conditions, simulating the diverse storage conditions and to simulate their use in water filtration systems. Under all these different settings, nanofibre properties (scanning electron microscope pictures, dimensional changes, tensile strength) and water filtration performance (clean water permeability (CWP), bacterial removal) were investigated. The results demonstrate that, as soon as the dimensional change of a membrane is >2%, the CWP, tensile strength and bacterial removal significantly decrease. These dimensional changes occurred when the membrane became dry after it had been in contact with water. As such, it is important to keep the membrane either in dry or in wet conditions to store its unique properties. When heat-treated, the membrane had a higher tensile strength and kept its morphology and characteristics better during storage.
Department of Textiles, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Technologiepark 907, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium.
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Daels
Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, B-8500 Kortrijk, Belgium E-mail: stijn.vanhulle@ugent.be.
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Harinck
Department of Textiles, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Technologiepark 907, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium.
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Goethals
Department of Textiles, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Technologiepark 907, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium.
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De Clerck
LIWET, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, B-8500 Kortrijk, Belgium E-mail: stijn.vanhulle@ugent.be; BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modeling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
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Van Hulle
D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D009757:Nylons / Q000737:chemistry*; D010539:Permeability; D013718:Tensile Strength; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009757:Nylons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water