Surface engineering with ionic polymers on membranes for boron removal

doi:10.1007/s11705-024-2413-5

Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (5) : 54 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-024-2413-5

Surface engineering with ionic polymers on membranes for boron removal

Xiting Zhang¹, Chenyi Fang¹, J Paul Chen^2,³, Sui Zhang¹(

)

¹. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
². Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Singapore
³. College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

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Abstract

Removal of boric acid from seawater and wastewater using reverse osmosis membrane technologies is imperative and yet remains inadequately addressed by current commercial membranes. Existing research efforts performed post-modification of reverse osmosis membranes to enhance boron rejection, which is usually accompanied by substantial sacrifice in water permeability. This study delves into the surface engineering of low-pressure reverse osmosis membranes, aiming to elevate boron removal efficiency while maintaining optimal salt rejection and water permeability. Membranes were modified by the self-polymerization and co-deposition of dopamine and polystyrene sulfonate at varying ratios and concentrations. The surfaces became smoother and more hydrophilic after modification. The optimum membrane exhibited a water permeability of 9.2 ± 0.1 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹·bar⁻¹, NaCl rejection of 95.8% ± 0.3%, and boron rejection of 49.7% ± 0.1% and 99.6% ± 0.3% at neutral and alkaline pH, respectively. The water permeability is reduced by less than 15%, while the boron rejection is 3.7 times higher compared to the blank membrane. This research provides a promising avenue for enhancing boron removal in reverse osmosis membranes and addressing water quality concerns in the desalination process.

Keywords membrane low-pressure reverse osmosis boron surface engineering

Corresponding Author(s): Sui Zhang

About author:

Li Liu and Yanqing Liu contributed equally to this work.

Just Accepted Date: 19 January 2024 Issue Date: 23 April 2024

Cite this article:

Xiting Zhang,Chenyi Fang,J Paul Chen, et al. Surface engineering with ionic polymers on membranes for boron removal[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(5): 54.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-024-2413-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2024/V18/I5/54

Fig.1 A general schematic illustrating the surface coating protocol on low-pressure RO membranes.

Tab.1 The dosage and ratio of dopamine and PSS for membrane coating

Fig.2 Top surface morphology of membranes characterized by SEM: (a) blank, (b) PDA20-PSS20, (c) PDA20-PSS40, (d) PDA20-PSS60, (e) PDA30-PSS60, and (f) PDA40-PSS80.

Fig.3 Cross-section morphology of membranes characterized by SEM: (a) blank, (b) PDA20-PSS40, (c) PDA30-PSS60, and (d) PDA40-PSS80.

Tab.2 Atomic percentage obtained from XPS characterizations of membrane surfaces

Fig.4 XPS spectra of the elementary compositions on membrane surfaces: (a) widescan spectra; (b) O 1s spectra of blank; (c) O 1s spectra of PDA20-PSS40; (d) O 1s spectra of PDA30-PSS60; (e) O 1s spectra of PDA40-PSS80.

Fig.5 WCA of the membranes with (a) PDA:PSS ratio increasing from 1:1 to 1:3 with constant PDA dosage, and (b) increasing PDA and PSS dosage at 1:2 ratio. Zeta potential of the membranes with (c) PDA:PSS ratio increasing from 1:1 to 1:3 with constant PDA dosage, and (d) increasing PDA and PSS dosage at 1:2 ratio.

Fig.6 Separation performance of membranes at (a) PDA:PSS ratio increasing from 1:1 to 1:3 with constant PDA dosage, and (b) increasing PDA and PSS dosage at the ratio of 1:2.

Fig.7 (a) Boron rejection with pH variation, (b) distribution of boron species [6,7,25,6], and (c) schematic diagram for boron rejection at different pH.

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