Saturday, November 22, 2008

THIN FILM MEMBRANES

Thin film composite membranes (TFC or TFM)

These are semipermeable membranes manufactured principally for use in water purification or desalination systems. They also have use in chemical applications such as batteries and fuel cells.
Essentially, a TFC material is a
molecular sieve constructed in the form of a film from two or more layered materials.
Membranes used in
reverse osmosis are typically made out of polyimide, chosen primarily for its permeability to water and relative impermeability to various dissolved impurities including salt ions and other small, unfilterable molecules.


Applications
Thin film composite membranes are used in
Water purification;
As a chemical reaction
buffer (batteries and fuel cells);
In industrial gas separations.



Active Research Areas
Nano-composite membranes (TFN). Key points: multiple layers, multiple materials.
New materials, sythetic zeolites, etc. to obtain higher performance.
Fuel-cells.
Batteries
.

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