Evaluating the efficiency of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane processes for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water: A critical review

Liu, Caihong; Zhao, Xiaoqing; Faria, Andréia Fonseca de; Quiñones, Katherine Y. Deliz; Zhang, Chuhui; He, Qiang; Ma, Jun; Shen, Ye; Zhi, Yue

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122161

Cited by 51 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…On the contrary, some studies reported that high NaCl concentrations (0.05–0.1 M) could induce a shielding effect on the negatively charged membrane and decrease the electrical double layer thickness, which reduces electrostatic repulsion between the membrane and PFAS and thus the rejection rate (Liu et al, 2022). We measured the surface zeta potential of RO and NF membrane under different ionic strengths.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Metal cations are believed to interact with the head functional groups of PFOS via electrostatic interactions, which increases the effective molecular size of PFAS and thus enables higher rejection by RO or NF (Luo et al, 2016). On the contrary, some studies reported that high NaCl concentrations (0.05-0.1 M) could induce a shielding effect on the negatively charged membrane and decrease the electrical double layer thickness, which reduces electrostatic repulsion between the membrane and PFAS and thus the rejection rate (Liu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Effect Of Ionic Strengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Membrane‐based separation processes are widely applied in water treatment industries. Particularly, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are both effective for the rejection of 20 different PFAS (above 90%) with carbon chains of C1–C14 (Liu et al, 2022), including the two common ones, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) (Bao et al, 2020; Boonya‐Atichart et al, 2016, 2018; Chen et al, 2020; Das & Ronen, 2022; Espana et al, 2015; Franke et al, 2021; Gu et al, 2017; Lee et al, 2022; Liu et al, 2021, 2023; Mastropietro et al, 2021; Xiong et al, 2021; Yadav et al, 2022; Zhi et al, 2022). To reach high removal of PFAS in dilute matrixes such as source water for drinking water supply, NF/RO presents higher removal rates than GAC or ion exchange processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to remove per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Effects of transmembrane pressures and water matrices

Ma,

Lei,

Liu

et al. 2024

Water Environment Research

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Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are now widely found in aquatic ecosystems, including sources of drinking water and portable water, due to their increasing prevalence. Among different PFAS treatment or separation technologies, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) both yield high rejection efficiencies (>95%) of diverse PFAS in water; however, both technologies are affected by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This study evaluated the rejection of PFAS of different carbon chain length (e.g., PFOA and PFBA) by two commercial RO and NF membranes under different operational conditions (e.g., applied pressure and initial PFAS concentration) and feed solution matrixes, such as pH (4–10), salinity (0‐ to 1000‐mM NaCl), and organic matters (0–10 mM). We further performed principal component analysis (PCA) to demonstrate the interrelationships of molecular weight (213–499 g·mol−1), membrane characteristics (RO or NF), feed water matrices, and operational conditions on PFAS rejection. Our results confirmed that size exclusion is a primary mechanism of PFAS rejection by RO and NF, as well as the fact that electrostatic interactions are important when PFAS molecules have sizes less than the NF membrane pores.Practitioner Points Two commercial RO and NF membranes were both evaluated to remove 10 different PFAS. High transmembrane pressures facilitated permeate recovery and PFAS rejection by RO. Electrostatic repulsion and pore size exclusion are dominant rejection mechanisms for PFAS removal. pH, ionic strength, and organic matters affected PFAS rejection. Mechanisms of PFAS rejection with RO/NF membranes were explained by PCA analysis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effect Of Ionic Strengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to remove per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Effects of transmembrane pressures and water matrices

Ma,

Lei,

Liu

et al. 2024

Water Environment Research

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“…29 Nondestructive remediation technologies, such as membrane filtration (e.g., reverse osmosis and nanofiltration), provide an alternative approach. 30 However, effective PFAS removal demands membranes with small molecular weight cutoff values, leading to high operating pressures and increased operational costs. Irreversible membrane fouling can reduce flux, 31 presenting a challenge.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrosorption-Driven Remediation of PFAS-Contaminated Water Using a MXene Nanosheet-PEDOT:PSS Adsorbent

Shrestha,

Ezazi,

Seo

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Eng. Mater.

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Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely used for their chemical and thermal stability in various industrial applications, have raised environmental and health concerns due to their ubiquitous presence in water sources. Stringent regulations targeting long-chain PFAS have been enacted, but emerging evidence indicates health risks associated with short-chain PFAS. Adsorption stands out as a viable remediation technology for PFAS-containing water. Electric-field-aided adsorption (electrosorption) emerges as a technique that has demonstrated that it can adsorb PFAS from water and enable on-demand desorption of the retained PFAS upon alternating the applied voltage. Effective electrosorption demands adsorbents with significant specific surface area, capacitance, and durability. Two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nanotrides (MXene) are competitive candidates. MXene, in conjunction with poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), can exhibit increased surface area and capacitance. This study develops a titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) MXene-PEDOT:PSS adsorbent for PFAS electrosorption. Acid etching enhances the adsorbent's specific surface area and pore characteristics, resulting in an approximately 400% increase in volumetric capacitance for various PFAS compared to untreated counterparts. The adsorption capacity for perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) is measured at 45.6, 51.1, and 54.9 mg/g, respectively, at an initial concentration of 750 ppb upon application of +1.0 V. The reversible adsorption−desorption cycles demonstrate the potential for repeated use of the adsorbent. We envision that the adsorbent can contribute to the development of efficient and sustainable technologies for addressing PFAS contamination in water sources.

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“…Numerous efforts have been devoted to the removal of PFAS from contaminated water. The most commonly used treatment methods include granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange (IX) resins, and reverse osmosis (RO). − In the RO process, 50–80% of the wastewater or industrial effluent becomes high-quality permeate and the balance is RO reject/concentrate, which contains the majority of the PFAS . Even though research has shown that RO membranes are typically more than 90% effective at rejecting a wide range of PFAS including short-chain PFAS, the process is expensive in part because off-site disposal or incineration of the reject water is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PFAS–CTAB Complexation and Its Role on the Removal of PFAS from a Lab-Prepared Water and a Reverse Osmosis Reject Water Using a Plasma Reactor

Li,

Isowamwen,

Ross

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Electrical discharge plasma reactors with argon bubbling can effectively treat long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in contaminated water, and the addition of a cationic surfactant cetrimonium bromide (CTAB) is known to enhance the removal of short-chain PFAAs. However, the roles of PFAA chain length, functional group, and water matrix properties on PFAA–CTAB complexation are largely unknown. This work investigated the bulk liquid removal of different PFAAs by CTAB in the absence of plasma. Stepwise addition of CTAB was subsequently used to efficiently treat PFAAs in a lab-prepared water and a reverse osmosis (RO) reject water using an enhanced contact plasma reactor. The results show that CTAB inhibited the bulk liquid removal of long-chain PFAAs in the absence of plasma likely due to the formation of hydrophilic CTAB-PFAA mixed micelles and competition for interfacial access between long-chain PFAAs and CTAB. On the contrary, CTAB enhanced the removal of short- and ultrashort-chain PFAAs by forming hydrophobic complexes. After 6 h of treatment in the plasma reactor with CTAB, PFAAs were 86 to >99% removed from the lab-prepared water and 29 to >99% removed from the RO reject water. This study provides important insights for overcoming mass transfer limitations for PFAA treatment technologies.

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Evaluating the efficiency of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane processes for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water: A critical review

Cited by 51 publications

References 83 publications

Evaluation of commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to remove per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Effects of transmembrane pressures and water matrices

Evaluation of commercial nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to remove per‐and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Effects of transmembrane pressures and water matrices

Electrosorption-Driven Remediation of PFAS-Contaminated Water Using a MXene Nanosheet-PEDOT:PSS Adsorbent

PFAS–CTAB Complexation and Its Role on the Removal of PFAS from a Lab-Prepared Water and a Reverse Osmosis Reject Water Using a Plasma Reactor

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