Scaling Resistance in Nanophotonics-Enabled Solar Membrane Distillation

Rice, Douglas; Ghadimi, Shahrouz J.; Barrios, Ana C.; Henry, Skyler; Walker, W. Shane; Li, Qilin; Perreault, François

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b07622

Cited by 57 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…In an MD process, the temperature difference-induced partial vapor pressure difference drives the water vapor to transport through the membrane pores from the feed stream to the distillate stream, while the nonvolatile species (e.g., salts) are rejected and remain in the feed stream. Compared to the state-of-the-art thermal desalination technology, mechanical vapor compression, MD is potentially cheaper in capital cost and can leverage low-grade thermal energy (e.g., industrial waste heat and geothermal energy) instead of electricity. − Recently, MD has been proposed for off-grid applications because of its small footprint. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Janus Membrane with a Dense Hydrophilic Surface Layer for Robust Fouling and Wetting Resistance in Membrane Distillation: New Insights into Wetting Resistance

Feng

Chen

Wang

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Although membrane distillation (MD) has been identified as a promising technology to treat hypersaline wastewaters, its practical applications face two prominent challenges: membrane wetting and fouling. Herein, we report a facile and scalable approach for fabricating a Janus MD membrane comprising a dense polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) surface layer and a hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane substrate. By testing the Janus membrane in direct contact MD experiments using feeds containing a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant or/and mineral oil, we demonstrated that the dense Janus membrane can simultaneously resist wetting and fouling. This method represents the simplest approach to date for fabricating MD membranes with simultaneous wetting and fouling resistance. Importantly, we also unveil the mechanism of wetting resistance by measuring the breakthrough pressure and surfactant permeation (through the PVA layer) and found that wetting resistance imparted by a dense hydrophilic layer is attributable to capillary pressure. This new insight will potentially change the paradigm of fabricating wetting-resistant membranes and enable robust applications of MD and other membrane contactor processes facing challenges of pore wetting or/and membrane fouling.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Janus Membrane with a Dense Hydrophilic Surface Layer for Robust Fouling and Wetting Resistance in Membrane Distillation: New Insights into Wetting Resistance

Feng

Chen

Wang

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Mineral scaling occurs by either a crystallization or polymerization mechanism. − For example, gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O) scaling is a result of crystallization via the hydration reaction of Ca 2+ and SO 4 2– in aqueous solutions, ,− whereas silica scale is created via the reaction of silicic acid polymerization. , The formation of mineral scales in membrane desalination could also be attributed to either homogeneous nucleation or heterogeneous nucleation. ,, As a high water recovery is being achieved, the supersaturated status of scale precursors in the feed solution provides strong momentum to initiate homogeneous nucleation, and the formation of nascent nuclei offers further nucleating sites for scale growth. , In the presence of membrane materials, the formation of scale nuclei can also take place heterogeneously on the membrane surface. , According to the classical nucleation theory (CNT), heterogeneous nucleation occurs more easily than homogeneous nucleation at the membrane–water interface due to its lower energy barrier. ,, However, homogeneous nucleation also plays an essential role in mineral scaling. As the concentration of calcium sulfate exceeds its solubility, gypsum formation proceeds via multiple stages of phase transformation in the solution, from amorphous phase to crystalline phases of calcium sulfate .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting Behaviors between Gypsum and Silica Scaling in the Presence of Antiscalants during Membrane Distillation

Yin

Jeong

Minjarez

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Mineral scaling is a major constraint that limits the performance of membrane distillation (MD) for hypersaline wastewater treatment. Although the use of antiscalants is a common industrial practice to mitigate mineral scaling, the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of antiscalants in inhibiting different mineral scaling types have not been systematically investigated. Herein, we perform a comparative investigation to elucidate the efficiencies of antiscalant candidates with varied functional groups for mitigating gypsum scaling and silica scaling in MD desalination. We show that antiscalants with Ca(II)-complexing moieties (e.g., carboxyl group) are the most effective to inhibit gypsum scaling formed via crystallization, whereas amino-enriched antiscalants possess the best performance to mitigate silica scaling created by polymerization. A set of microscopic and spectroscopic analyses reveal distinct mechanisms of antiscalants required for those two common types of scaling. The mitigating effect of antiscalants on gypsum scaling is attributed to the stabilization of scale precursors and nascent CaSO4 nuclei, which hinders phase transformation of amorphous CaSO4 toward crystalline gypsum. In contrast, antiscalants facilitate the polymerization of silicic acid, immobilizing active silica precursors and retarding the gelation of silica scale layer on the membrane surface. Our study, for the first time, demonstrates that antiscalants with different functionalities are required for the mitigation of gypsum scaling and silica scaling, providing mechanistic insights on the molecular design of antiscalants tailored to MD applications for the treatment of wastewaters containing different scaling types.

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“…The obtained secondary energy can be subsequently used to promote the utilization of alternative water resources. To date, advanced solar-powered water treatment technologies, such as solar-thermal interface desalination (STID), ,− solar-thermal membrane desalination (STMD), − solar-driven electrochemical desalination (SED), − and solar-thermal atmospheric water harvesting (ST-AWH), − ,− have been rapidly developed. These solar-driven technologies have great potential for the development of next-generation sunlight–energy–water nexus.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar-Powered Sustainable Water Production: State-of-the-Art Technologies for Sunlight–Energy–Water Nexus

Sheng

et al. 2021

ACS Nano

312

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Alternative water resources (seawater, brackish water, atmospheric water, sewage, etc.) can be converted into clean freshwater via high-efficiency, energy-saving, and cost-effective methods to cope with the global water crisis. Herein, we provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of various solar-powered technologies for alternative water utilization (i.e., "sunlight−energy−water nexus"), including solar-thermal interface desalination (STID), solarthermal membrane desalination (STMD), solar-driven electrochemical desalination (SED), and solar-thermal atmospheric water harvesting (ST-AWH). Three strategies have been proposed for improving the evaporation rate of STID systems above the theoretical limit and designing allweather or all-day operating STID systems by analyzing the energy transfer of the evaporation and condensation processes caused by solar-thermal conversion. This review also introduces the fundamental principles and current research hotspots of two other solar-driven seawater or brackish water desalination technologies (STMD and SED) in detail. In addition, we also cover ST-AWH and other solar-powered technologies in terms of technology design, materials evolution, device assembly, etc. Finally, we summarize the content of this comprehensive review and discuss the challenges and future outlook of different types of solar-powered alternative water utilization technologies.

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Scaling Resistance in Nanophotonics-Enabled Solar Membrane Distillation

Cited by 57 publications

References 55 publications

Janus Membrane with a Dense Hydrophilic Surface Layer for Robust Fouling and Wetting Resistance in Membrane Distillation: New Insights into Wetting Resistance

Janus Membrane with a Dense Hydrophilic Surface Layer for Robust Fouling and Wetting Resistance in Membrane Distillation: New Insights into Wetting Resistance

Contrasting Behaviors between Gypsum and Silica Scaling in the Presence of Antiscalants during Membrane Distillation

Solar-Powered Sustainable Water Production: State-of-the-Art Technologies for Sunlight–Energy–Water Nexus

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