Porosity and Pore Area Determination of Hollow Fiber Membrane Incorporating Digital Image Processing

摘要

Hollow Fiber Membrane (HFM) surface properties are crucial factors for evaluating the membrane performance in a specific application. Hence, this study aims to introduce an attractive and convenient method of calculating the membrane surface pore area, pore distribution and surface porosity. The results also suggest how to control the spinning conditions towards fabricating a suitable membrane based on the requirements of a process. The image processing package (IPP) changed the qualitative surface information from the outer surface via the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images to quantitative results. The IPP determines the pore area, pore area distribution and surface porosity of membrane. The calculated surface porosity of the membranes was compared with the achieved value obtained from the gas permeation test. There was no significant difference between the results of both methods, thereby confirming the applicability of IPP for the study of membrane surface properties. This work presents a novel approach to evaluate the pore size, pore area and surface porosity of HFM for various conditions.