General Electric Company

Marcell Marschall

Robert Szabo

Attila Palinkas

Kristof Vizvardi

Andras Gyorgy Pozsgay

Zoltan A Fekete

A filtering membrane has a supporting structure comprising filaments and is coated with a dope to produce a polymeric membrane layer. Some or all of the filaments comprise a second polymer that is soluble or swellable in a solvent of the dope. The supporting structure may be braided with yarns. One or more yarns may comprise filaments comprising the second polymer. In one example, a braided tubular support is coated with a dope based on PVDF in NMP. Some or all of the yarns of the braid are made of bi-component core-sheath PET-PVDF filaments. With as few as 4% of the yarns in the braid made of the bicomponent filaments, peel strength and pull force of the membrane is improved relative to a braid made entirely of PET yarns. In experimental examples, unpeelable composite membranes were produced. The membrane may be used, for example, for water or wastewater filtration applications.

Composite membrane with compatible support filaments

A hollow fiber membrane is made by covering a tubular supporting structure with a membrane dope and converting the membrane dope into a solid porous membrane wall. Optionally, a textile reinforcing structure in the form of a circular knit may be added around the supporting structure before it is covered in dope. The reinforcing structure thereby becomes embedded in the membrane wall. The supporting structure may be soluble in a non-solvent of the membrane wall, for example water, and may be removed from the membrane. Alternatively, the supporting structure may be porous. A porous supporting structure may be made by a non-woven textile process, a sintering process within an extrusion machine, or by extruding a polymer mixed with a second component. The second component may be a soluble solid or liquid, a super-critical gas, or a second polymer that does not react with the first polymer.

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Oroszlany, Hungary

Marcell Marschall