Cyclic olefin polymer as a novel membrane material for membrane distillation applications

A first attempt was made to prepare cyclic olefin polymer/copolymer (COP/COC) flat-sheet porous membranes by the well-known non-solvent induced phase separation method. In this study, two solvents (chloroform and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene), different additives (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP, polyethylene glycol, PEG400, oxide, PEO, Sorbitan monooleate, Span 80) coagulants (acetone 70/30 wt% acetone/water mixture) were employed. The prepared characterized in terms of thickness (70–85 ?m), porosity (~50–80%), liquid entry pressure (1.16–4.55 bar), water contact angle (~86° - 111°), mean pore size (158–265 nm), mechanical properties (tensile strength: 0.74–5.51 MPa, elongation at break: 3.34%–7.94% Young's modulus: 29–237 MPa), morphological topographical characteristics. Short-term direct membrane distillation (DCMD) tests showed maximum permeate fluxes 20 kg m?2h?1 15 when using as feed distilled 30 g/L sodium chloride aqueous solution, respectively, with a high salt factor (99.99%). Long-term DCMD some selected carried out during 24–50 h that PEG additive exhibited more stable performance. general, it proved COP can be successfully used novel polymer candidate (MD) applications.