Membrane Fabrication

The Thermo Scientific™ Digital Bottle/Tube Roller is a roller system capable of uniformly mixing polymer solutions or other chemicals. It can rotate small objects like falcon tubes as well as bottles of various sizes simultaneously. There are two available roller systems, both of which can be found in lab ZH279. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

·         Suitable for various sizes, 15 mL falcon tubes to 15 cm diameter bottles

·         The speed ranges between 1 and 80 rpm

·         Time range between 1 and 999 minutes, or continuous mode

·         The rollers are wear-resistant and anti-corrosive.

The Silverson L5 Sealed unit laboratory mixer is a specialized version of the L5M-A mixer. It is equipped with a sealed, fully enclosed mixing vessel. This ensures mixing is done in a precise, safe, and reproducible way. Two L5 systems are present, one used solely with polymer solutions and the other with added activated carbon to prevent contamination. Both mixers are available in laboratory ZH283. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

·         Stainless steel assembly

·         Various axial-flow and disintegrating heads

·         Maximum-speed of 10.000 rpm

·         Able to work with highly viscous solutions

The MEMS Hollow Fiber Spinning System is a midi-scale laboratory hollow fiber production system. It consists of three pressurized tanks for storage of bore and dope solutions, connected to the spinneret via flow meters (bore) and pumps (dope). It contains one water bath and a metal collection wheel that can be interchanged for a personalized wheel for various purposes. The MEMS system is available in lab ZH279. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

The Pilot-scale hollow fiber membrane spinning set-up (Me-Sep) can be used to produce hollow fiber membranes on a large scale. It consists of 3 pumps for bore and dope solution extrusion. The spinneret, or fiber mold, is a triple orifice spinneret that is capable of creating dual layer membranes. The system consists of a coagulation bath, a washing bath, and a bath to keep the membranes wetted while being spun around the collection wheel. Various spinning parameters can be altered to your liking, including bore and polymer flow rates and temperature, water temperature, air gap size, pulling speed, stretch factor, and the addition of a vapor chamber for outside-in hollow fiber production. The stable and large-scale production of hollow fiber membranes allows for commercial-sized dialyzer module fabrication. The set-up is available in lab ZH278. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

The Pilot-scale spinneret (Me-Sep) used for the pilot-scale spinning set-up (left) is a triple orifice spinneret capable of producing mixed matrix membranes. It can also be used to produce single-layer hollow fiber membranes. The L0.25 spinneret for the MEMS, also a triple orifice spinneret, has the same dimensions but in different housing. The similar dimensions of the two spinnerets allows for upscaling production of fibers from the middle-sized MEMS set-up to the pilot-scale device. The spinnerets can be found in lab ZH279 and ZH282, respectively. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

The MemCast™ flat sheet membrane casting device allows for highly reproducible flat sheet membrane casting, as compared to using a manual casting blade. The MemCast™ contains an automatic, aluminium casting blade capable of producing membranes of varying thicknesses. The casting blade speed can be set to any preferred speed, ensuring a consistent speed over the desired length of the membrane. After casting the polymer solution, the casting plate can be lifted and placed in a separate coagulation bath to create the membrane. The MemCast™ is in laboratory ZH283. For further questions or specifications, please feel free to contact the AOT department.

·         Membrane thicknesses between 100 and 500 µm

·         Blade speeds between 1 and 100 mm/s

·         Max casting size of 350 mm x 560 mm

·         Heated glass casting bed of up to 60 °C