Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation

Porous hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have been extensively used in direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) processes. However, these PVDF membranes are vulnerable to membrane fouling and pore wetting in low surface tension feeds, restricting its application for water recov...

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Main Authors: Chew, Nick Guan Pin, Zhao, Shanshan, Malde, Chandresh, Wang, Rong
Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/85027
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50426
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-850272020-09-26T21:59:34Z Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation Chew, Nick Guan Pin Zhao, Shanshan Malde, Chandresh Wang, Rong School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Interdisciplinary Graduate School (IGS) Singapore Membrane Technology Centre Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Membrane Distillation Surfactant Engineering::Environmental engineering::Water treatment Porous hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have been extensively used in direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) processes. However, these PVDF membranes are vulnerable to membrane fouling and pore wetting in low surface tension feeds, restricting its application for water recovery from challenging industrial wastewaters. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to engineer fouling- and wetting-resistant MD membranes for robust long-term applications. In this study, a superoleophobic composite hollow fiber membrane with sandwich structure has been developed via accelerated oxidant-induced polydopamine (PDA) deposition on both the outer and inner surfaces of a commercial hydrophobic PVDF membrane under slightly acidic conditions (pH = 5). The modified surface prevents organics adhesion ascribing to its underwater superoleophobicity while the unmodified pores remain hydrophobic for vapor transport. The long-term robustness of the PDA-decorated membrane in highly saline feeds containing low surface tension contaminants has been evaluated via bench-scale DCMD experiments. In contrast to the pristine PVDF membrane, the PDA-decorated membrane exhibits excellent fouling- and wetting-resistant properties in different surfactant solutions as well as oil-in-water emulsion. The PDA-decorated membrane has also been used for seawater desalination, during which it maintains a stable flux and high salt rejection rate. Furthermore, the PDA-decorated membrane presents a flux enhancement of up to 70% over the pristine PVDF membrane in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution at 333 K. This study demonstrates the potential of the PDA-decorated membrane for extended DCMD applications such as water recovery from industrial wastewater containing low surface tension substances. EDB (Economic Devt. Board, S’pore) Accepted version 2019-11-18T05:35:14Z 2019-12-06T15:55:51Z 2019-11-18T05:35:14Z 2019-12-06T15:55:51Z 2018 Journal Article Chew, N. G. P., Zhao, S., Malde, C., & Wang, R. (2018). Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation. Journal of Membrane Science, 563, 31-42. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2018.05.035 0376-7388 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/85027 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50426 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.05.035 en Journal of Membrane Science © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Journal of Membrane Science and is made available with permission of Elsevier B.V. 33 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Membrane Distillation
Surfactant
Engineering::Environmental engineering::Water treatment
spellingShingle Membrane Distillation
Surfactant
Engineering::Environmental engineering::Water treatment
Chew, Nick Guan Pin
Zhao, Shanshan
Malde, Chandresh
Wang, Rong
Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
description Porous hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have been extensively used in direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) processes. However, these PVDF membranes are vulnerable to membrane fouling and pore wetting in low surface tension feeds, restricting its application for water recovery from challenging industrial wastewaters. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to engineer fouling- and wetting-resistant MD membranes for robust long-term applications. In this study, a superoleophobic composite hollow fiber membrane with sandwich structure has been developed via accelerated oxidant-induced polydopamine (PDA) deposition on both the outer and inner surfaces of a commercial hydrophobic PVDF membrane under slightly acidic conditions (pH = 5). The modified surface prevents organics adhesion ascribing to its underwater superoleophobicity while the unmodified pores remain hydrophobic for vapor transport. The long-term robustness of the PDA-decorated membrane in highly saline feeds containing low surface tension contaminants has been evaluated via bench-scale DCMD experiments. In contrast to the pristine PVDF membrane, the PDA-decorated membrane exhibits excellent fouling- and wetting-resistant properties in different surfactant solutions as well as oil-in-water emulsion. The PDA-decorated membrane has also been used for seawater desalination, during which it maintains a stable flux and high salt rejection rate. Furthermore, the PDA-decorated membrane presents a flux enhancement of up to 70% over the pristine PVDF membrane in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution at 333 K. This study demonstrates the potential of the PDA-decorated membrane for extended DCMD applications such as water recovery from industrial wastewater containing low surface tension substances.
author2 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
author_facet School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Chew, Nick Guan Pin
Zhao, Shanshan
Malde, Chandresh
Wang, Rong
format Article
author Chew, Nick Guan Pin
Zhao, Shanshan
Malde, Chandresh
Wang, Rong
author_sort Chew, Nick Guan Pin
title Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
title_short Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
title_full Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
title_fullStr Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
title_full_unstemmed Polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
title_sort polyvinylidene fluoride membrane modification via oxidant-induced dopamine polymerization for sustainable direct-contact membrane distillation
publishDate 2019
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/85027
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/50426
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