Effects of the extractants on the properties of the microporous HDPE membranes with Co-diluent

In this study, the effects of the extractants on the properties of the microporous high density polyethylene (HDPE) membranes with co-diluent were investigated. Stearyl alcohol, soybean oil, and dibuthyl phthalate were premixed as a co-diluent. The extractants utilized in this experiment were methanol, ethanol, butanol, and hexane. The surface pore volumes of the membranes were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the porosities were measured with a mercury porosimeter. It was found that the pore volume and the porosity of the HDPE membranes extracted by ethanol had the highest values and those by hexane had the lowest values. Also, the thermal properties of the membranes were performed as a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA)