Fabrication and characterization of pyridinium functionalized anion exchange membranes for acid recovery

Abstract

In the present work, the fabrication of pyridinium functionalized anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for acid recovery using diffusion dialysis (DD) processes was developed using brominated poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPO) as a polymer backbone and 4-methylpyridine (MP) as an ion exchange element. The electrochemical and physiochemical properties of the developed AEMs were tested under various concentration of MP into the polymer matrix. Water uptake (WR) of 17.18% to 30.55%, ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 1.94–2.24 mmol/g and linear swelling ratio (LSR) of 6.87–14.89% were obtained. In addition, the new membranes exhibited dense morphology, higher thermal and chemical stability in addition to dimensional and mechanical sturdiness. Acid dialysis coefficient (UH) in the range of 0.011–0.066 m/h was obtained. In addition the developed AEMs had a separation factor (S) in range of 24.87–77.61 resulting in enhanced DD performance compared to commercial membrane DF-120B under comparable experimental conditions. The new prepared membranes showed potential for successful application in acid recovery via diffusion dialysis.