Nanocomposites for Improved Physical Durability of Porous PVDF Membranes

Abstract

Current commercial polymer membranes have shown high performance and durability in water treatment, converting poor quality waters to higher quality suitable for drinking, agriculture and recycling. However, to extend the treatment into more challenging water sources containing abrasive particles, micro and ultrafiltration membranes with enhanced physical durability are highly desirable. This review summarises the current limits of the existing polymeric membranes to treat harsh water sources, followed by the development of nanocomposite poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes for improved physical durability. Various types of nanofillers including nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes (CNT) and nanoclays were evaluated for their effect on flux, fouling resistance, mechanical strength and abrasion resistance on PVDF membranes. The mechanisms of abrasive wear and how the more durable materials provide resistance was also explored.

Impact of solvents and process conditions on the formation of polyethersulfone membranes and its fouling behavior in lake water filtration

“…Natural organic matter contains negatively charged carboxylic (COO − ) and hydroxyl groups (OH − ). The interactions of the feed stream with cloisite are interrelated by electrostatic interaction and Van der Waals forces . Cloisite, with a higher aspect ratio and higher surface area, aids adsorption.…”

Preparation and characterization of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/nanoclay nanocomposite flat sheet membranes for abrasion resistance

“…Membranes made from nanocomposites 64 using nanoclays may be an effective means to achieve this desired strengthening. 65 Nanoclay, which is of relatively low cost and commercially available (Tjong 2006 demonstrating that PVDF nanocomposite membranes can be effectively produced and show 77 increased strength, little work has been done to explore the effect on abrasion resistance based 78 on our review (Lai et al 2014b). 79…”

Superhydrophobic modification of PVDF–SiO2 electrospun nanofiber membranes for vacuum membrane distillation

“…Besides, the LEPw value of the FAS-PVDF-SiO 2 nanofiber membrane with 8 wt% SiO 2 loading (195 kPa) is quite competitive, while the nanofiber membranes reported in previous studies only possessed a LEPw value around100 kPa. However, the elongation at break is reduced with the silica addition, which implies the brittleness of the polymer-nanoparticle bonds 45. It is obvious from the results that the mechanical properties of these membranes are improved with the increasing silica content.…”

“…Besides, the silica nanoparticles could act as a crosslinking point in the composite membranes, which increases the rigidity of the polymeric chains and results in the improved mechanical performance [43][44][45]. 7Based on the strain-stress measurements of the FAS-PVDF-SiO 2 nanofiber membranes, tensile strength, Young's modulus and elongation at break are tabulated inTable 5.…”