Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798; Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, CleanTech One #06-08, Singapore 637141; Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, CleanTech One #06-08, Singapore 637141.
Water Res. 2021 Jan 1;188:116497. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116497. Epub 2020 Oct 5.
Over the past decade, 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) technology has seen great advancement in many aspects such as printing resolution, speed and cost. Membranes for water treatment experienced significant breakthroughs owing to the unique benefits of additive manufacturing. In particular, 3D printing's high degree of freedom in various aspects such as material and prototype design has helped to fabricate innovative spacers and membranes. However, there were conflicting reports on the feasibility of 3D printing, especially for membranes. Some research groups stated that technology limitations today made it impossible to 3D print membranes, but others showed that it was possible by successfully fabricating prototypes. This paper will provide a critical and comprehensive discussion on 3D printing specifically for spacers and membranes. Various 3D printing techniques will be introduced, and their suitability for membrane and spacer fabrication will be discussed. It will be followed by a review of past studies associated with 3D-printed spacers and membranes. A new category of additive manufacturing in the membrane water industry will be introduced here, known as hybrid additive manufacturing, to address the controversies of 3D printing for membrane. As AM technology continues to advance, its possibilities in the water treatment is limitless. Some insightful future trends will be provided at the end of the paper.
在过去的十年中，3D 打印或增材制造（AM）技术在打印分辨率、速度和成本等方面取得了重大进展。由于增材制造的独特优势，水处理膜也取得了重大突破。特别是，3D 打印在材料和原型设计等各个方面具有高度的自由度，有助于制造创新的间隔物和膜。然而，关于 3D 打印的可行性，特别是对于膜，存在相互矛盾的报告。一些研究小组表示，目前的技术限制使得不可能进行 3D 打印膜，但其他研究小组则通过成功制造原型表明这是可能的。本文将对 3D 打印技术，特别是对间隔物和膜的制造进行批判性和全面的讨论。将介绍各种 3D 打印技术，并讨论它们对膜和间隔物制造的适用性。然后回顾与 3D 打印间隔物和膜相关的过去研究。本文将介绍膜水处理行业中的一个新的增材制造类别，称为混合增材制造，以解决膜的 3D 打印争议。随着 AM 技术的不断进步，它在水处理领域的可能性是无限的。本文最后提供了一些有见地的未来趋势。
