Porosimetric membrane characterization techniques: a review

Abstract

Membrane technology is of significant importance in water treatment applications, and also gaining momentum in other separations due to advantages such as environmentally friendly operation, less complex and lower-cost operating conditions compared to alternative options. To provide for sustainable and efficient membrane-based applications, the selection of appropriate membranes is crucial. Such a selection is based on membrane characterization, which offers critical information on parameters such as porosity, average pore size and pore size distribution (PSD). The two main classes of characterization methods are direct and indirect, with the latter having a theoretical basis, being more affordable, and also generally being able to characterize larger membrane areas compared to the direct techniques. This study reviews the indirect membrane characterization methods, the key theoretical backgrounds of which are the Young-Laplace equation, Kelvin equation, Gibbs-Thomson equation, and spectroscopy-based equations. The mathematical details are first presented, followed by the measurement details and experimental requirements, and finally the studies on membrane characterization via indirect methods. The advantages and limitations of each method are also discussed. For a complete understanding of the membrane, indirect methods may need to be complemented with direct ones and also with appropriate retention experiments of the feeds of interest.