ORGANO-INORGANIC COMPOSITE MEMBRANES - A MATHEMATICAL-MODELING APPROACH TO THE SOLID LIQUID INTERACTION PROPERTIES OF ASBESTOS IN ITS COMPOSITES

Data for the liquid sorption (Y) by asbestos membranes, coated with polyphenylene sulphide or with polyphenylene sulphide sulphonic acid and having variable polymer concentration (X) and acid equivalent (EW) values, have been fitted by multivariable mathematical models relating Y to X and EW in the bulk and in the surface membrane phase. The results point out that (i) the membrane surface is the sorption-limiting phase at low porosity, (ii) under this condition the liquid sorption selectivity depends on the membrane acid equivalent concentration, and (iii) the membrane acid functions allow both macro-permeation, into the bulk phase, and micro-permeation, through the coating layer into the asbestos support structure, of aqueous media.