Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction in membrane formation by thermally induced phase separation

In this study, a novel and environmentally friendly extracting method, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC‐CO₂) extraction, was investigated in the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process for making microporous membranes. In the SC‐CO₂ extraction, the effects of extraction time, pressure, and temperature on the extraction fraction, membrane morphology, and membrane performance were investigated. It was concluded that with extraction conditions of 18 MPa, 35°C and 2 h, the porous membrane had the highest extraction fraction. There was a close relationship between membrane performance and the extraction conditions of SC‐CO₂, and it is possible to tailor membrane performance through the choice of extraction conditions. Compared with traditional solvent extraction, a dry membrane treated by SC‐CO₂ extraction has much less shrinkage and greater water permeability, whereas the degree of crystallization of a membrane extracted by SC‐CO₂ is slightly greater than that extracted by ethanol. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1632–1639, 2007