Preparation of reverse osmosis membrane with high permselectivity and anti-biofouling properties for desalination

doi:10.1007/s11783-021-1497-0

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (7) : 89 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1497-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Preparation of reverse osmosis membrane with high permselectivity and anti-biofouling properties for desalination

Xinxia Tian¹, Hui Yu¹, Jun Yang², Xiaotai Zhang¹, Man Zhao¹, Yang Yang¹, Wei Sun¹, Yangyang Wei¹, Yin Zhang¹, Jian Wang¹(

), Zhun Ma³(

)

¹. The Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization, MNR (Tianjin), Tianjin 300192, China
². Tianjin Huanke Environment Consulting CO., LTD, Tianjin 300191, China
³. College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

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Abstract

• Nanoparticle incorporation and anti-biofouling grafting were integrated.

• Flux of modified membranes was enhanced without rejection sacrificing.

• Anti-biofouling property of modified membranes was improved.

High performance is essential for the polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes during the desalination process. Herein, RO membranes with high permselectivity and anti-biofouling properties were fabricated by nanoparticles incorporation and anti-biofouling grafting. Hydrotalcite (HT) incorporation was performed with a dual role, enhancing water flux and acting as grafting sites. The HT incorporation increased the water flux without sacrificing the salt rejection, compensating for the loss caused by the following grafting reaction. The exposed surface of HT acted as grafting sites for anti-biofouling agent dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride (DMOTPAC). The combination of HT incorporation and DMOTPAC grafting endowed RO membranes with high permselectivity and anti-biofouling properties. The water flux of the modified membrane PA-HT-0.06 was 49.8 L/m²·h, which was 16.4% higher than that of the pristine membrane. The salt rejection of PA-HT-0.06 was 99.1%, which was comparable to that of the pristine membrane. As to the fouling of negatively charged lysozyme, the modified membrane’s water flux recovery was superior to that of the pristine membrane (e.g. 86.8% of PA-HT-0.06 compared to 78.2% of PA-pristine). The sterilization rates of PA-HT-0.06 for E. coli and B. subtilis were 97.3% and 98.7%, much higher than those of the pristine membrane (24.0% for E. coli and 26.7% for B. subtilis).

Keywords Anti-biofouling grafting Nanoparticle incorporation Sterilization rates Water flux Water flux recovery

Corresponding Author(s): Jian Wang,Zhun Ma

Issue Date: 25 November 2021

Cite this article:

Xinxia Tian,Hui Yu,Jun Yang, et al. Preparation of reverse osmosis membrane with high permselectivity and anti-biofouling properties for desalination[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(7): 89.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-021-1497-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I7/89

Fig.1 Characterizations of HT nanoparticles: (a) SEM micrograph; (b) X-ray diffraction pattern; (c) AFM image; (d) height profile.

Fig.2 Schematic illustration of membrane preparation: (a) PA-pristine; (b) modified membrane.

Fig.3 Characterizations of RO membranes: (a) SEM micrographs; (b) TEM micrographs; (c) ATR-FTIR spectra; (d) N 1s spectra of DMOTPAC-grafted membrane; (e) zeta potentials; (f) contact angles.

Tab.1 Surface roughness of RO membranes

Fig.4 Water flux and salt rejection of RO membranes.

Fig.5 Anti-biofouling properties of RO membranes: (a) normalized fluxes during fouling-rinse cycles; (b) static adsorption of proteins; (c) bacteria in contact with membrane surface after 3 h; (d) sterilization rates toward bacteria; (e) CLSM images of bacteria in contact with membrane surface after 24 h.

Fig.6 Schematic representation of HT incorporation and DMOTPAC grafting.

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