Effect of bore fluid flow rate on formation and properties of hollow fibers

In this work, for high performance and wide range of ultrafiltration applications, the effects of the most widely used values of internal coagulant flow rates (ICFR) (i.e., 2.6, 3.6, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 ml/min) on the different features of the polyvinylchloride hollow fiber have been investigated. Both the idealized straight and the cylindrical pore with small effect of tortuosity were approximately obtained through the effect of ICFR. Atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and ultrafiltration measurements were utilized to characterize the hollow fibers. The SEM and AFM results indicated that the cross-sectional morphology of the fibers is changed significantly with various ICFR. The structure of the inner surface was also changed from an open cellular structure to a porous structure by means of high pore density and small pore diameter. In addition, the membrane thickness was reduced by 314% with an increase in the ICFR from 2.6 to 13 ml/min. The pure water permeation flux was improved 17 times when ICFR was increased to 13 ml/min, while the BSA rejection remained within the acceptable range (from 93.4 to 90.4) when the ICFR was increased from 2.6 to 9 ml/min. © 2017, The Author(s).