Thin-Film Composite Polyamide Membranes with In Situ Attached Ag Nanoparticles for Fouling-Mitigated Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

As an ideal membrane for wastewater treatment, desirable separation performance, and fouling resistance are both requisite. Herein we directly in situ attached Ag based nanoparticles on the surface of thin-film composite polyamide (TFC PA) membranes by using benzenediamine (BDA) derivatives with acid functional groups as one aqueous monomer mixed with m-phenylenediamine (MPD) for interfacial polymerization (IP). The acid functional groups in BDA derivatives incorporated in the PA layer facilitated the in situ metallization or mineralization without grafting additional “bridge” linkers. Various characterization techniques were employed to elucidate the modification mechanism. The effects of molecular structures of BDA derivatives on the surface properties, separation performance, and antifouling capacity of resulting membranes were also systematically investigated. Compared with the pristine TFC membrane, the modified membranes exhibited the 85.83% water flux enhancement and 65.25% lower reverse salt flux overcoming the permeability-selectivity trade-off. Moreover, the total Ag loading of modified membranes increases by 8–14 times as compared to that of the pristine one, thereby the enhanced antibacterial and antifouling capacities in wastewater treatment.

Membrane fouling and removal performance of submerged aerobic membrane bioreactors: a comparative study of optimizing operational conditions and membrane modification

“…Decreased IFR in M‐SMBR having the antibiofouling PVC/PC/MAg nanocomposite membrane could be interpreted in this way: modified Ag nanoparticles deterred MOs from approaching the membrane. As Ag nanoparticles have enormous potential for making MOs inactive during filtration processes when they are incorporated into the membranes, a wealth of research has been conducted to control membrane fouling by incorporating Ag nanoparticles in fabricated membranes 20,35,37,38 . However, having produced EPSs and SMPs, MOs could adversely affect membrane performances.…”

“…As Ag nanoparticles have enormous potential for making MOs inactive during filtration processes when they are incorporated into the membranes, a wealth of research has been conducted to control membrane fouling by incorporating Ag nanoparticles in fabricated membranes. 20,35,37,38 However, having produced EPSs and SMPs, MOs could adversely affect membrane performances. In other words, although modified Ag nanoparticles embedded within a membrane matrix could reject MOs, 23 they are prone to be covered by substances secreted by MOs present in activated sludge.…”

Polyamide Thin-Film Composite Janus Membranes Avoiding Direct Contact between Feed Liquid and Hydrophobic Pores for Excellent Wetting Resistance in Membrane Distillation

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to fabricate a polyamide thin-film composite Janus membrane for MD. And previous studies on Janus membranes mainly focused on fabricating a porous hydrophilic layer on the surface of the hydrophobic membrane to resist oil fouling, − but generally, those Janus membranes cannot resist the wetting of surfactants. Borrowing the nomenclature from membranes with similar structure, , we refer to the prepared membrane as a TFC Janus membrane.…”

Antifouling Performance of a Membrane Modified by Phase-Transited Bovine Serum Albumin

“…To achieve such a goal, various strategies ranging from pretreatment of feed water, optimization of operation parameters, and utilization of antifouling membranes have been developed . Considering the convenience of operation and removal of contaminants with various chemical properties, fabricating antifouling membranes is more feasible and reliable than the other strategies. − Due to the significant roles in antifouling against macromolecules and microbes, surface properties of membranes including hydrophilicity, − roughness, and charge have been tuned to prevent membrane fouling. ,,, For microbe-caused fouling, bactericidal chemicals were often grafted on membrane surfaces to kill cells . For example, Ag, quaternary ammonium, and antimicrobial peptides have been deposited on membrane surfaces to inactivate microbes and preserve the membrane permeate flux.…”

“…17,18,24,25 For microbe-caused fouling, bactericidal chemicals were often grafted on membrane surfaces to kill cells. 19 For example, Ag, quaternary ammonium, and antimicrobial peptides have been deposited on membrane surfaces to inactivate microbes and preserve the membrane permeate flux. However, these biocides may exert an adverse impact on the environment.…”