Effect and mechanism of solution flow rate during interfacial polymerization on morphology and performance of hollow fiber membranes

Interfacial polymerization (IP) using m-phenylenediamine and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) is an essential method for producing thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. Nevertheless, IP is highly sensitive to changes in process parameters, especially the TMC solutions flow rate during inside-out TFC hollow fibers (HF) production. Research on the impact of flow conditions (i.e., laminar vs. turbulent flows) of these organic solutions on the final membrane characteristics and corresponding mechanism is still lacking. This research tested different TMC flow rates (0.1-2 ml/min) to produce inside-out TFC HF. With a TMC flow rate increase, (i) the leaf-like structures of the polyamide (PA) layer decreased in size, (ii) the thickness of the PA layer slightly increased, and (iii) the pure water permeability decreased. However, the elemental composition, chemical bonds, and NaCl rejection remained stable. Different fluid regimes are considered to affect the performance of HF membranes by affecting the heat dissipation process during IP reaction. A TMC flow rate in the laminar flow state (i.e., low flow rates) is recommended for synthesizing HFs. The current research provides new insights into the IP reaction mechanism of HF membrane, thus offering valuable guidance to optimize and produce membrane products with better performance.