Fabrication and Investigation of Acid Functionalized CNT Blended Nanocomposite Hollow Fiber Membrane for High Filtration and Antifouling Performance in Ultrafiltration Process

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated a nanocomposite polyethersulfone (PES) HF membrane by blending acid functionalized carbon nanotubes (FCNT) to address the issue of reduced membrane life, increased energy consumption, and operating costs due to low permeability and membrane fouling in the ultrafiltration process. Additionally, we investigated the effect of FCNT blending on the membrane in terms of the physicochemical properties of the membrane and the filtration and antifouling performance. The FCNT/PES nanocomposite HF membrane exhibited increased water permeance from 110.1 to 194.3 LMH/bar without sacrificing rejection performance and increased the flux recovery ratio from 89.0 to 95.4%, compared to a pristine PES HF membrane. This study successfully developed a high filtration and antifouling polymer-based HF membrane by blending FCNT. Furthermore, it was validated that blending FCNT into the membrane enhances the filtration and antifouling performance in the ultrafiltration process.

Integration of Porous Nanomaterial-Infused Membrane in UF/FO Membrane Hybrid for Simulated Osmosis Membrane Bioreactor (OsMBR) Process

“…This selectivity is possible because of the size and structure of the membrane’s pores, which are specifically designed to be highly selective for certain molecular weights. With an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles in the membrane, the surface pores (as shown in SEM 5) decreased in size [ 40 ], leading to a reduction in the reverse solute flux from 2 to 0.5 g/m 2 h, as demonstrated in Figure 8 . However, the increase in reverse solute flux observed in the MT2 membrane may be attributed to membrane defects caused by nanoparticle agglomeration, which may decrease the membrane’s efficiency due to limited compatibility between the nanoparticles and polymer matrix.…”

“…In fact, the presence of nanoparticles alters the surface chemistry and morphology of the membrane, creating a hydrophilic and rougher surface. This roughness, combined with the presence of nanoparticles, inhibits the attachment of foulants, such as proteins or bacteria, to the membrane surface [ 40 ]. Additionally, the hydrophilic surface of the nanocomposite membrane promotes easy water flow and prevents the accumulation of organic matter on the surface, further reducing the fouling tendency [ 43 ].…”

“…Membranes 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 18 rougher surface. This roughness, combined with the presence of nanoparticles, inhibits the attachment of foulants, such as proteins or bacteria, to the membrane surface [40].…”

Industrial Scale Manufacturing Sub‐10 nm Reverse Osmotic Desalination Membrane on Metallic Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Network

“…[11] The water permeate flux >50 LMH/bar was reported more recently for MWCNTs polysulfone nanofilters. [12,13] The enhanced water transport through the inner pores or inter-tubes of aligned MWCNTs was observed. [14] Aligned singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with a diameter ranging from 0.67 to 1.27 nm embedded in a polysulfone matrix were reported to have 1000 times higher water flow than predicted by Hagen-Poiseuille flow.…”

“…[ 11 ] The water permeate flux >50 LMH/bar was reported more recently for MWCNTs polysulfone nanofilters. [ 12,13 ]…”