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Wettability Characterization

For liquid filtration, a membrane must be wettable with the fluid being filtered. The wettability of a membrane is tied to the chemical properties of the membrane surface. Most polymers used to manufacture microporous membranes are naturally hydrophobic, meaning they will not wet out with water.

Some exceptions are nylon and cellulose which are naturally hydrophilic and will wet out with water. The distinction between hydrophobic and hydrophilic relates to the surface energy of the polymer. If the surface energy is >70 dynes/cm, the polymer is hydrophilic. Below 70 dynes/cm, the polymer is hydrophobic.

Hydrophobic membranes are wettable with alcohols. If the polymer is compatible with alcohols, it can be wet first with the alcohol and then equilibrated in water prior to filtering the aqueous fluid. For many applications, this is impractical; the membrane must be directly wettable with the aqueous fluid.



Hydrophilic
Hydrophobic



Overcoming hydrophobicity

To overcome the hydrophobicity of the polymer, the membrane can be treated with a secondary chemistry that coats the base polymer. The secondary chemistry becomes primary in determining wettability. It is important to recognize that the base polymer remains hydrophobic unless the secondary chemistry is a covalent modification of the polymer.

Venting

In venting applications, the filter is used as a porous barrier that allows escape of gas bubbles from a liquid stream or exchange of gases between a liquid stream and the external atmosphere. To ensure that the filter does not wet out under any circumstances, it can be treated with a secondary chemistry that renders it superhydrophobic or oleophobic. This reduces the surface energy to <20 dynes/cm. The membrane cannot be wet with water or alcohols.