Exploring the Effect of Iron Metal-Organic Framework Particles in Polylactic Acid Membranes for the Azeotropic Separation of Organic/Organic Mixtures by Pervaporation
Asma Msahel,
Francesco Galiano,
Martina Pilloni,
Francesca Russo,
Amor Hafiane,
Roberto Castro-Muñoz,
Vijay Bhooshan Kumar,
Aharon Gedanken,
Guido Ennas,
Ze’ev Porat,
Alessandra Scano,
Sofiane Ben Hamouda,
Alberto Figoli
Affiliations
Asma Msahel
Laboratory of Water Membrane and Environmental Biotechnology (LMBE), CERTE BP 273, 8020 Soliman, Tunisia
Francesco Galiano
Institute on Membrane Technology, ITM-CNR, Via P. Bucci 17/c, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Martina Pilloni
Chemical and Geological Science Department, Unità di Ricerca del Consorzio Nazionale di Scienze e Tecnologie dei Materiali (INSTM), University of Cagliari, SS 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
Francesca Russo
Institute on Membrane Technology, ITM-CNR, Via P. Bucci 17/c, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Amor Hafiane
Laboratory of Water Membrane and Environmental Biotechnology (LMBE), CERTE BP 273, 8020 Soliman, Tunisia
Roberto Castro-Muñoz
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca, Avenida Eduardo Monroy Cárdenas 2000, San Antonio Buenavista, Toluca de Lerdo 50110, Mexico
Vijay Bhooshan Kumar
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
Aharon Gedanken
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
Guido Ennas
Chemical and Geological Science Department, Unità di Ricerca del Consorzio Nazionale di Scienze e Tecnologie dei Materiali (INSTM), University of Cagliari, SS 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
Ze’ev Porat
Division of Chemistry, Nuclear Research Center-Negev, P.O. Box 9001, Be’er-Sheva 8419001, Israel
Alessandra Scano
Chemical and Geological Science Department, Unità di Ricerca del Consorzio Nazionale di Scienze e Tecnologie dei Materiali (INSTM), University of Cagliari, SS 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
Sofiane Ben Hamouda
Laboratory of Water Membrane and Environmental Biotechnology (LMBE), CERTE BP 273, 8020 Soliman, Tunisia
Alberto Figoli
Institute on Membrane Technology, ITM-CNR, Via P. Bucci 17/c, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
A microporous carboxylate metal-organic framework MIL-100 Fe was prepared as submicron particles by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis (Fe-MOF-MW). This product was explored, for the first time, for the preparation of polylactic acid (PLA) mixed matrix membranes. The produced MOF was characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) as well as by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The effect of different Fe-MOF-MW concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 wt%) on the membrane properties and performance were evaluated. These membranes were used in the pervaporation process for the separation of methanol/methyl tert-butyl-ether mixtures at the azeotropic point. The influence of the feed temperature and vacuum pressure on the membrane performance was evaluated and the results were compared with PLA pristine membranes. Moreover, the produced membranes have been characterised in terms of morphology, MOF dispersion in the polymeric membrane matrix, wettability, thickness, mechanical resistance and swelling propensity. The presence of Fe-MOF-MW was found to have a beneficial effect in improving the selectivity of mixed matrix membranes towards methanol at both concentrations. The highest selectivity was obtained for the PLA membranes embedded with 0.5 wt% of Fe-MOF-MW and tested at the temperature of 25 °C and vacuum pressure of 0.09 mbar.
