Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117602.
Environ Sci Technol. 2013 Jul 16;47(14):8070-7. doi: 10.1021/es4013917. Epub 2013 Jun 28.
The practical application of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) technology for renewable blue energy (i.e., osmotic power generation) from salinity gradient is being hindered by the absence of effective membranes. Compared to flat-sheet membranes, membranes with a hollow fiber configuration are of great interest due to their high packing density and spacer-free module fabrication. However, the development of PRO hollow fiber membranes is still in its infancy. This study aims to open up new perspectives and design strategies to molecularly construct highly robust thin film composite (TFC) PRO hollow fiber membranes with high power densities. The newly developed TFC PRO membranes consist of a selective polyamide skin formed on the lumen side of well-constructed Matrimid hollow fiber supports via interfacial polymerization. For the first time, laboratory PRO power generation tests demonstrate that the newly developed PRO hollow fiber membranes can withstand trans-membrane pressures up to 16 bar and exhibit a peak power density as high as 14 W/m(2) using seawater brine (1.0 M NaCl) as the draw solution and deionized water as the feed. We believe that the developed TFC PRO hollow fiber membranes have great potential for osmotic power harvesting.
压力延迟渗透（PRO）技术从盐度梯度中获取可再生蓝色能源（即渗透发电）的实际应用受到缺乏有效膜的阻碍。与平板膜相比，具有中空纤维结构的膜因其高堆积密度和无间隔模块制造而备受关注。然而，PRO 中空纤维膜的开发仍处于起步阶段。本研究旨在为高度稳健的薄膜复合（TFC）PRO 中空纤维膜的分子构建开辟新的视角和设计策略，以实现高功率密度。新开发的 TFC PRO 膜由在精心构建的 Matrimid 中空纤维支撑体的内腔侧形成的选择性聚酰胺皮层组成，通过界面聚合。首次进行的实验室 PRO 发电测试表明，新开发的 PRO 中空纤维膜可以承受高达 16 巴的跨膜压力，并在使用海水盐水（1.0 M NaCl）作为汲取液和去离子水作为进料时表现出高达 14 W/m²的峰值功率密度。我们相信，所开发的 TFC PRO 中空纤维膜在渗透能收集方面具有巨大的潜力。
