Desalination 154 (2003) 303-304

DESALINATION

www.elsevier.com/locate/desal

Book Review Polyphenylene Oxide and Modified Polyphenylene Oxide Membranes: Gas, Vapour and Liquid Separation

Edited by Geeta Chowdhury, Boguslaw Kruczek, Takeshi Matsuura Department of Chemical Engineering, Industrial Membrane Research Institute, University of Ottawa,

ON, Canada

Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Hardbound, ISBN O-7923-75 1 l-4, October 2001, 344 pp. EUR 164.00 / USD 150.00 i GBP 104.00 ,

Prof. Takeshi Matsuura and his colleagues have edited an interesting book on membrane separation, such as gas separation, vapor and liquid separations, with polyphenylene oxide and modified polyphenylene oxide membranes. This book is all about the membrane science and technology of polyphenylene oxide and its derivatives, from chemical modification to characterization and module design.

This book consists of nine chapters. Prof. Hay, who is the inventor of polyphenylene oxide (PPO), contributed to the topic on the novel PPO preparation and modification of PPO polymers. Chapters 2-4 describe PPO gas separation membranes. The second chapter includes hydrogen separation through dimethyl- and diphenyl-PPO membranes and their membrane morphology study. Chapter 3 deals with sulfonated PPO membranes form membrane preparation to membrane characterization and Chapter 4 reviews modified PPO membranes for various gas separations. This chapter includes many subjects - PPO modification, preparation of composite hollow fibers, and prototype module design. Effect of spinning parameters on the geometry and membrane performance of PPO hollow fibers are precisely described in Chapter 5. The following two chapters, Chapters 6 and 7, deal with the nanofiltration membranes from sulfonated PPO. Chapter 6 shows the effects of various variables in the coating process of PPO on the performance of thin film composite membranes. Chapter 7 describes nanofiltration membranes for pulp and paper wastewater treatment.

Chapter 8 reviews novel membrane characterization methods, including Raman Spectroscopy, Infrared Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and Electron Spin Resonance. Especially, membrane characterization by ESR is described in detail. For me, this chapter is the highlight of the book. Even if you are not interested in PPO or modified PPO membranes, these novel methods

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for membrane characterization help your membrane research. The last chapter, Chapter 9, briefly describes dehydration of methane with PPO or modified PPO membranes.

Although the book covers subjects on membranes from PPO or modified PPO, its contents encompass ahnost all subjects in membrane research and development.

As Dr. S. Sourirajan, the great inventor of asymmetric cellulose acetate reverse osmosis membrane for seawater desalination (together with Dr. S. Loeb), mentioned in the Foreword of the book, this book significantly contributes to the materials science of membrane separation.

I would like to recommend not only to membrane scientists and membrane technologists but also to beginners in the membrane field to read this book as a reference book or a textbook. Anyway, pick up the book and glance over the book.

Masakazu Yoshikawa Laboratory for Ap lied Polymer Science Department of Po ymer Science and Engineering P Kyoto Institute of Technology