Phenol and benzoic acid recovery from end-of-life of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes and its thermochemical kinetic behaviour
Date
2023-05
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type
Article
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Series Info
ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS;2023, VOL. 45, NO. 2, 6043–6061
Scientific Journal Rankings
Abstract
The remarkable properties of polysulfone (PSF) membranes have contributed to
their use in many ultrafiltration applications. Meanwhile, this huge usage of PSF
films and its short service life have generated a huge amount of waste PSF films
that need to be managed carefully. Within this framework, this is the first
research specifically developed to valorize the end-of-life of PSF membranes
and convert them into high-value chemical and energy products using pyrolysis
treatment. The treatment was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer
(TGA), while the structure and abundance of the phenol and benzoic acid
compounds in the generated vapor were determined using Fourier-transform
infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-
MS). Thermogravimetric recorded data at different conditions (5–30°C/min) was
subjected to linear and nonlinear models including KAS, FWO, Friedman,
Vyazovkin, and Cai to assess the pyrolytic kinetic behavior of PSF films. The
films showed higher content of volatile matter (57%), lower NOx emissions
(0.321%), and a little bit more SOX emission (6.909%). The GC-MS showed that
the pyrolytic gaseous products are rich in phenol (24.3%) and benzoic acid
(52.4%) compounds and the highest abundance was achieved at 30°C/min.
Whereas activation energies were estimated in the range of 193–240 kJ/mol
based on linear kinetic criteria versus 161–163 kJ/mol in the case of nonlinear
models, where R2 values (>0.91) indicated perfection. Also, distributed activation
energy and independent parallel reaction kinetic models showed a good fit with
the TGA-DTG experimental data with the minimum deviation. The study con-
firmed the potential of pyrolysis treatment in converting wasted PSF films into
a new source for the recovery of phenolic and benzoic acid.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 20 March 2023
Revised 27 April 2023
Accepted 2 May 2023
Description
Keywords
Polysulfone;, polymer membrane waste;, pyrolysis;, TG/FTIR-GC/MS analysis;, kinetic parameters