Superhydrophobic nanoparticle-coated PVDF–HFP membranes with enhanced flux, anti-fouling and anti-wetting performance for direct contact membrane distillation-based desalination

Abstract

Synthesis and superposition of silicon oxide nanoparticles on the surface of PVDF–HFP membrane via one-step method provide high superhydrophobic, oleophobic and antifouling properties enhancing their performance in membrane distillation.

Plasma-Induced Superhydrophobicity as a Green Technology for Enhanced Air Gap Membrane Distillation

“…This involved measuring the ethanol flux under a specified pressure within a given time. The Guerout–Elford–Ferry equation was used to calculate the average pore size d m (m) using the following formula: d normalm = true( 8 ( 2.9 − 1.75 ε ) n δ Q ε P A true) 1 / 2 where n is the viscosity of ethanol (1.04 × 10 –9 bar s), δ is the membrane thickness (m), Q is the flux per unit time (kg m –2 s –1 ), P is the operational pressure (bar), and A is the effective membrane area (m –2 ). Because oxygen plasma treatment reduces membrane thickness, different δ values were used for each membrane type untreated and plasma treated.…”

Antifouling Plasma-Treated Membranes with Stable Superhydrophobic Properties for Membrane Distillation

“…A detailed description of the membrane characterization methods can be found in our previous publication . Our methods include scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the morphological characterization, water static contact angle (WSCA) and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) for the wetting properties evaluation, liquid surface tension, liquid entry pressure (LEP), porosity, and tortuosity measurements as well as active pore size determination by implementing the filtration velocity method . Additionally, a KRÜSS DSA 30S contact angle instrument was used for the surface energy measurements with the use of diiodomethane and DI water droplets of 5 μL and the implementation of the WORK model for the calculations …”