Petukhov Dmitrii I, Weston James, Valeev Rishat G, Johnson Daniel J
Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 129188, United Arab Emirates.
Water Research Center, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 129188, United Arab Emirates.
Membranes (Basel). 2024 Aug 7;14(8):172. doi: 10.3390/membranes14080172.
The reverse osmosis water treatment process is prone to fouling issues, prompting the exploration of various membrane modification techniques to address this challenge. The primary objective of this study was to develop a precise method for modifying the surface of reverse osmosis membranes to enhance their antifouling properties. The Langmuir-Blodgett technique was employed to transfer aminated graphene oxide films assembled at the air-liquid interface, under specific surface pressure conditions, to the polyamide surface with pre-activated carboxylic groups. The microstructure and distribution of graphene oxide along the modified membrane were characterized using SEM, AFM, and Raman mapping techniques. Modification carried out at the optimal surface pressure value improved the membrane hydrophilicity and reduced the surface roughness, thereby enhancing the antifouling properties against colloidal fouling. The flux recovery ratio after modification increased from 65% to 87%, maintaining high permeability. The modified membranes exhibited superior performance compared to the unmodified membranes during long-term fouling tests. This membrane modification technique can be easily scaled using the roll-to-roll approach and requires minimal consumption of the modifier used.
反渗透水处理过程容易出现污染问题，这促使人们探索各种膜改性技术来应对这一挑战。本研究的主要目的是开发一种精确的方法来修饰反渗透膜的表面，以增强其抗污染性能。采用朗缪尔-布洛杰特技术，在特定表面压力条件下，将在气液界面组装的胺化氧化石墨烯薄膜转移到具有预活化羧基的聚酰胺表面。使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、原子力显微镜（AFM）和拉曼映射技术对改性膜上氧化石墨烯的微观结构和分布进行了表征。在最佳表面压力值下进行的改性提高了膜的亲水性并降低了表面粗糙度，从而增强了对胶体污染的抗污染性能。改性后的通量恢复率从65%提高到87%，同时保持了高渗透性。在长期污染测试中，改性膜表现出比未改性膜更优异的性能。这种膜改性技术可以很容易地通过卷对卷方法进行扩大规模，并且所用改性剂的消耗量最小。
