An antifouling catechol/chitosan-modified polyvinylidene fluoride membrane for sustainable oil-in-water emulsions separation

doi:10.1007/s11783-020-1355-5

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (4) : 63 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1355-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

An antifouling catechol/chitosan-modified polyvinylidene fluoride membrane for sustainable oil-in-water emulsions separation

Shanshan Zhao^1,^2,³, Zhu Tao^1,³, Liwei Chen⁴, Muqiao Han^1,³, Bin Zhao², Xuelin Tian⁴, Liang Wang²(

), Fangang Meng^1,^2,³(

)

¹. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
². State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
³. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
⁴. School of Material Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

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Abstract

• Underwater superoleophobic membrane was fabricated by deposition of catechol/chitosan.

• The membrane had ultrahigh pure water flux and was stable under harsh pH conditions.

• The membrane exhibited remarkable antifouling property in O/W emulsion separation.

• The hydration layer on the membrane surface prevented oil droplets adhesion.

Low-pressure membrane filtrations are considered as effective technologies for sustainable oil/water separation. However, conventional membranes usually suffer from severe pore clogging and surface fouling, and thus, novel membranes with superior wettability and antifouling features are urgently required. Herein, we report a facile green approach for the development of an underwater superoleophobic microfiltration membrane via one-step oxidant-induced ultrafast co-deposition of naturally available catechol/chitosan on a porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate. Membrane morphology and surface chemistry were studied using a series of characterization techniques. The as-prepared membrane retained the original pore structure due to the ultrathin and uniform catechol/chitosan coating. It exhibited ultrahigh pure water permeability and robust chemical stability under harsh pH conditions. Moreover, the catechol/chitosan hydrophilic coating on the membrane surface acting as an energetic barrier for oil droplets could minimize oil adhesion on the surface, which endowed the membrane with remarkable antifouling property and reusability in a cyclic oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion separation. The modified membrane exhibited a competitive flux of ~428 L/(m²·h·bar) after three filtration cycles, which was 70% higher than that of the pristine PVDF membrane. These results suggest that the novel underwater superoleophobic membrane can potentially be used for sustainable O/W emulsions separation, and the proposed green facile modification approach can also be applied to other water-remediation materials considering its low cost and simplicity.

Keywords Antifouling Catechol/chitosan co-deposition Oil-in-water emulsions separation Underwater superoleophobic

Corresponding Author(s): Liang Wang,Fangang Meng

Issue Date: 16 October 2020

Cite this article:

Shanshan Zhao,Zhu Tao,Liwei Chen, et al. An antifouling catechol/chitosan-modified polyvinylidene fluoride membrane for sustainable oil-in-water emulsions separation[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2021, 15(4): 63.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1355-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2021/V15/I4/63

Fig.1 Schematic of (a) the modification process, (b) the suggested polymerization mechanism of catechol and chitosan in the presence of sodium periodate as an oxidant, and images of (c) the pristine PVDF and (d) modified membranes.

Fig.2 (a) FESEM images of the surface morphologies of the pristine PVDF (a1) and M-4 membranes (a2). (b) ATR-FTIR spectra and (c) Deconvolution of the C 1s spectra of the pristine PVDF (c1) and M-4 (c2) membranes.

Tab.1 Elemental compositions of the pristine PVDF and M-4 membrane surfaces (in atomic percentage)

Fig.3 (a) In-air WCAs of the pristine and modified membranes and (b) captured images of the underwater interactions between an oil droplet and the membrane surface.

Fig.4 Zeta potentials of the pristine PVDF and M-4 membrane surfaces.

Fig.5 (a) Pure water permeability (PWP) of the membranes modified with catechol/chitosan at various ratios. (b) PWP of the M-4 membranes after treatment under various pH conditions for 24 h. The PWP was tested under 20 kPa at a stirring speed of 300 r/min.

Fig.6 Separation performance of the M-4 membrane for Tween 20-stabilized O/W emulsions: (a) micrographs and images of the hexadecane O/W emulsion and the permeate after M-4 membrane filtration; (b) particle size distribution of the hexadecane O/W emulsion; and (c) removal efficiencies of various O/W emulsions of the pristine PVDF and M-4 membranes. The filtration experiments were conducted under 20 kPa at a stirring speed of 300 r/min.

Fig.7 Permeate flux during the three separation cycles of Tween 20-stabilized hexadecane-in-water emulsion. The experiments were conducted using a dead-end cell under 20 kPa at a stirring speed of 300 r/min.

Fig.8 Schematic of the separation mechanism of the (a) pristine PVDF and (b) modified membranes.

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