Thin-Film Nanofibrous Composite Ultrafiltration Membranes Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol Barrier Layer Containing Directional Water Channels 

 -  Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 49(23), p.11978-11984, 2010 .
<br/><br/> A new class of thin-film nanofibrous composite (TFNC)membranes, composed of a chemically cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)barrier layer containing directional water channels through the incorporation of very fine nanofiber fillers, an electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN)nanofibrous scaffold midlayer, and a meltblown polyethylene terephthalate (PET)nonwoven support, was demonstrated for ultrafiltration (UF)of oil/ water emulsions. The permeation flux of TFNC membrane with a pure PVA barrier layer was already about 5 times higher than that of the commercial PAN10 (Sepro)UF membrane at low pressures (e.g., 30 psi), while maintaining a similar rejection ratio (กซ 99.7