Development and evaluation of ion exchange hollow fibers
An ion exchange hollow fiber impregnated with a vinylpyridine base was developed. The basic exchange resin used to impart the necessary permselectivity to the hollow fiber is a copolymer of vinylpyridine and dibromoethane prepared according to Rembaum. A slight pressure was used to impregnate the exchange monomer mixture into the void structure of the fiber wall, and with maintenance of subambient temperatures, the rate of cross-linking is slow enough to allow the growing polymer to permeate the wall structure before significant increase in polymer molecular weight. These ion exchange fibers are produced from polyacrylonitrile hollow fibers with an appropriate wall structure that enables the impregnating vinylpyridine monomer mixture to form a truly semipermeable anion barrier after curing.