Enhancing concentration of oxygen by polysulfone membrane for environmental applications

Abstract

For the purpose of using membranes from polysulfone (PSF) for oxygen enrichment, the membranes were prepared by dry/wet method. This method was involved in evaporation step in the air followed by an immersion into a water bath. Then a thin top layer of the asymmetric membrane was formed in the evaporation step. There are three experimental parameters that influce the formation of membrane including polymer concentration, evaporation time, and the ratio of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) were studied. From experiments, some results of polysulfone membrane formed by dry/wet method showed high selectivity coefficient of 1,53 at 0,1 MPa pressure with the flow of oxygen through the membrane of 0,310ml/s.