Abstract
A thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membrane with high performance and superb durability was fabricated on a polydopamine (PDA)-modified polyethylene (DPE) support via an unconventional aromatic solvent-based interfacial polymerization (IP) method. The PDA coating uniformly hydrophilized the hydrophobic pristine polyethylene (PE) support, which enabled the long-term operation stability. The thin (∼8 μm) and highly porous support structure with interconnected pores was preserved after the PDA modification, leading to a remarkably low structural parameter (∼168 μm) of the support. In addition, the use of the toluene-based IP process allowed for the formation of a highly permselective polyamide selective layer on the hydrophilic DPE support, which was challenging with the conventional aliphatic solvent-based IP process. Hence, the prepared DPE-supported TFC (DPE-TFC) membrane exhibited unprecedented high FO performance, i.e., ∼4.5 times higher FO water flux and ∼63% lower specific salt flux (in FO mode) compared to the commercial HTI-CTA membrane. Furthermore, the DPE-TFC membrane possessed superior mechanical robustness, which guarantee durable operability and potential application even in mechanically harsh environments. Hence, the PE-supported FO membrane presents a new paradigm in FO membrane technology.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 89-99 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Membrane Science |
Volume | 584 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 Aug 15 |
Keywords
- Forward osmosis
- Interfacial polymerization
- Polydopamine
- Polyethylene
- Thin film composite membrane
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Materials Science(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Filtration and Separation