Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 117749 |
| Journal | Journal of Membrane Science |
| Volume | 597 |
| Early online date | 14 Dec 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 14 Dec 2019 |
Keywords
- Boron nitride nanotubes
- Chemical vapour deposition
- Interfacial polymerisation
- Nanofiltration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Materials Science(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Filtration and Separation
Cite this
High flux thin-film nanocomposites with embedded boron nitride nanotubes for nanofiltration. / Casanova, Serena; Liu, Tian Yin; Chew, John; Livingston, Andrew G; Mattia, Davide.
In: Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 597, 117749, 01.03.2020.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - High flux thin-film nanocomposites with embedded boron nitride nanotubes for nanofiltration
AU - Casanova, Serena
AU - Liu, Tian Yin
AU - Chew, John
AU - Livingston, Andrew G
AU - Mattia, Davide
PY - 2019/12/14
Y1 - 2019/12/14
N2 - A novel thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane was obtained by incorporating boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) into a polyamide (PA) thin selective layer prepared via interfacial polymerisation. The addition of just 0.02 wt% of BNNTs led to a 4-fold increase in pure water permeance with no loss in rejection for divalent salts, methylene blue or humic acid compared to the pure PA membrane. Loadings higher than 0.02 wt% of BNNTs led to agglomeration with overall loss of performance. For the membranes containing 0.02 wt% BNNTs, the pure water permeance was 4.5 LMH@bar, with >90% rejection of MgSO4 and >80% rejection of CaCl2. Fouling tests with humic acid showed a flux recovery ratio of >95% with ∼50% lower flux loss during the fouling cycle compared to the polyamide only membrane. These values represent a significant improvement over both commercial polyamide membranes and TFN membranes incorporating carbon nanotubes. We assert that the very small quantity of BNNTs needed to produce the enhanced performance opens the way to their use in water treatment applications where nanofiltration membranes are subject to severe organic fouling.
AB - A novel thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane was obtained by incorporating boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) into a polyamide (PA) thin selective layer prepared via interfacial polymerisation. The addition of just 0.02 wt% of BNNTs led to a 4-fold increase in pure water permeance with no loss in rejection for divalent salts, methylene blue or humic acid compared to the pure PA membrane. Loadings higher than 0.02 wt% of BNNTs led to agglomeration with overall loss of performance. For the membranes containing 0.02 wt% BNNTs, the pure water permeance was 4.5 LMH@bar, with >90% rejection of MgSO4 and >80% rejection of CaCl2. Fouling tests with humic acid showed a flux recovery ratio of >95% with ∼50% lower flux loss during the fouling cycle compared to the polyamide only membrane. These values represent a significant improvement over both commercial polyamide membranes and TFN membranes incorporating carbon nanotubes. We assert that the very small quantity of BNNTs needed to produce the enhanced performance opens the way to their use in water treatment applications where nanofiltration membranes are subject to severe organic fouling.
KW - Boron nitride nanotubes
KW - Chemical vapour deposition
KW - Interfacial polymerisation
KW - Nanofiltration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076673028&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117749
DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117749
M3 - Article
VL - 597
JO - Journal of Membrane Science
JF - Journal of Membrane Science
SN - 0376-7388
M1 - 117749
ER -