Conductive and stable polyphenylene/CNT composite membrane for electrically enhanced membrane fouling mitigation

Nanocarbon-based conductive membranes, especially carbon nanotube (CNT)-based membranes, have tremendous potential for wastewater treatment and water purification because of their excellent water permeability and selectivity, as well as their electrochemically enhanced performance (e.g., improved antifouling ability). However, it remains challenging to prepare CNT membranes with high structural stability and high electrical conductivity. In this study, a highly electroconductive and structurally stable polyphenylene/CNT (PP/CNT) composite membrane was prepared by electropolymerizing biphenyl on a CNT hollow fiber membrane. The PP/CNT membrane showed 3.4 and 5.0 times higher electrical conductivity than pure CNT and poly(vinyl alcohol)/CNT (PVA/CNT) membranes, respectively. The structural stability of the membrane was superior to that of the pure CNT membrane and comparable to that of the PVA/CNT membrane. The membrane fouling was significantly alleviated under an electrical assistance of −2.0 V, with a flux loss of only 11.7% after 5 h filtration of humic acid, which is significantly lower than those of PP/CNT membranes without electro-assistance (56.8%) and commercial polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes (64.1%). Additionally, the rejection of negatively charged pollutants (humic acid and sodium alginate) was improved by the enhanced electrostatic repulsion. After four consecutive filtration-cleaning cycle tests, the flux recovery rate after backwashing reached 97.2%, which was much higher than those of electricity-free PP/CNT membranes (67.0%) and commercial PVDF membranes (61.1%). This study offers insights into the preparation of stable conductive membranes for membrane fouling control in potential water treatment applications.

Electro-conductive crosslinked polyaniline/carbon nanotube nanofiltration membrane for electro-enhanced removal of bisphenol A

Nanofiltration(NF)has attracted increasing attention for wastewater treatment and potable water purification.However,the high-efficiency removal of micropollutants by NF membranes is a critical challenge.Owing to the adsorption and subsequent diffusion,some weakly charged or uncharged micropollutants,such as bisphenol A(BPA),can pass through NF membranes,resulting in low removal rates.Herein,an effective strategy is proposed to enhance the BPA removal efficiency of a crosslinked polyaniline/carbon nanotube NF membrane by coupling the membrane with electro-assistance.The membrane exhibited a 31.9%removal rate for 5 mg/L BPA with a permeance of 6.8 L/(m2·h·bar),while the removal rate was significantly improved to 98.1%after applying a voltage of 2.0 V to the membrane.Furthermore,when BPA coexisted with humic acid,the membrane maintained 94%removal of total organic carbon and nearly 100%removal of BPA at 2.0 V over the entire filtration period.Compared to continuous voltage applied to the membrane,an intermittent voltage(2.0 V for 0.5 h with an interval of 3.5 h)could achieve comparable BPA removal efficiency,because of the combined effect of membrane adsorption and subsequent electrochemical oxidation.Density functional theory calculations and BPA oxidation process analyses suggested that BPA was adsorbed by two main interactions:π–πand hydrogen-bond interactions.The adsorbed BPA was further electro-degraded into small organic acids or mineralized to CO_(2) and H2O.This work demonstrates that NF membranes coupled with electro-assistance are feasible for improving the removal of weakly charged or uncharged micropollutants.