Investigation was made on the efficiency of two commercial membranes in removing via forward osmosis(FO)the low molecular weight organic compounds typical of coking wastewater. The membranes were supplied by Poten and...Investigation was made on the efficiency of two commercial membranes in removing via forward osmosis(FO)the low molecular weight organic compounds typical of coking wastewater. The membranes were supplied by Poten and HTI companies. The organics in the simulated coking water were indole and pyrridine. Under FO mode, the rejection to the organics by Poten membrane was around 50%, whereas that for HTI membrane was obviously higher, ranging from 65% to 74%. The response of the two membranes in terms of Water flux and reverse salt flux(RSF) towards changing feed/draw solution(DS) flow rates in FO mode showed similar tendency,but different degree. Generally, the flux in FO using HTI membranes was lower. For HTI membrane, FO operated with pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) mode was also performed and the overall rejection of the organics was slightly lower than that in FO mode. In the long term FO test within 15 days, both Poten and HTI membranes displayed flux reduction and rejection enhancement. But the variation with Poten membrane was much more obvious. Discussion was carried out about the reasons and the mechanisms behind the FO performance difference between two membranes and the variation in flux and rejection with operation conditions. Characterizations by SEM, FTIR, AFM, XRD and XPS were tried to support the proposed explanations.展开更多
Separate treatment of high-nutrient sidestream is an efficient and cost effective way to decrease the loading on the main plant, resulting in lower effluent nutrient concentration. This study investigated the use of a...Separate treatment of high-nutrient sidestream is an efficient and cost effective way to decrease the loading on the main plant, resulting in lower effluent nutrient concentration. This study investigated the use of a combined forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) system for the removal of nitrogen present in high concentration in sidestream from anaerobic digestion process. The combined system was able to achieve almost 100% rejection of solids and acetic acid, and more than 98% rejection of NH3-N from the sidestream. The high rejection of NH3-N was mainly achieved by the FO process. The solids in the feed solution contributed to fouling problem in both FO and MD, resulting in significant decline in flux. However, 76% or higher flux recovery was achieved for FO membrane by cleaning with tap water. We observed that flux recovery was due to removal of solids from the membrane surface by the cleaning process. FO membrane also demonstrated excellent performance for continuous operation when cleaned for 15 min in every 24 h interval. Overall, the combined FO-MD system was found to be an effective solution for treatment of nutrient rich sidestream.展开更多
Forward osmosis(FO), as an emerging technology, is influenced by different factors such as operating conditions,module characteristics, and membrane properties. The general aim of this study was to develop a suitable(...Forward osmosis(FO), as an emerging technology, is influenced by different factors such as operating conditions,module characteristics, and membrane properties. The general aim of this study was to develop a suitable(flexible,comprehensive, and convenient to use) computational tool which is able to simulate osmosis through an asymmetric membrane oriented in pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) mode in a wide variety of scenarios. For this purpose, an agent-based model was created in NetLogo platform, which is an easy-to-use application environment with graphical visualization abilities and well suited for modeling a complex system evolving over time. The simulation results were validated with empirical data obtained from literature and a great agreement was observed. The effect of various parameters on process performance was investigated in terms of temperature,cross-flow velocity, length of the module, pure water permeability coefficient, and structural parameter of the membrane. Results demonstrated that the increase in all parameters, except structural parameter of the membrane and the length of module led to the increase of average water flux. Moreover, nine different draw solutes were selected in order to assess the influence of net bulk osmotic pressure difference between the draw solution(DS) and feed solution(FS)(known as the driving force of FO process) on water flux. Based on the findings of this paper, the performance of FO process(PRO mode) can be efficiently evaluated using the NetL ogo platform.展开更多
Forward osmosis(FO), as one of the emerging desalination technologies, has the potential to produce fresh water from a variety of water sources by utilizing the osmotic pressure gradient across a semi-permeable membra...Forward osmosis(FO), as one of the emerging desalination technologies, has the potential to produce fresh water from a variety of water sources by utilizing the osmotic pressure gradient across a semi-permeable membrane.Draw solution, as an essential component of any FO process, can extract water molecules from seawater or wastewater. An ideal draw solution should meet three essential requirements, namely high osmotic pressure, low reverse flux, and facile regeneration mechanism. The selection of proper draw solutes is especially critical for an energy-efficient FO process since the energy consumption mostly arises from the separation or regeneration of the draw solution. Recently, we developed a few multi-functional FO draw solutes, mainly aiming to enhance the FO water flux and to explore facile re-concentration methods. This review summarizes these draw solutes,including Na^+_- functionalized carbon quantum dots, thermoresponsive copolymers, hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticles, and thermoresponsive magnetic nanoparticles.展开更多
The discharge of industrial effluent containing heavy metal ions would cause water pollution if such effluent is not properly treated.In this work,the performance of emerging nanofiltration(NF)like-forward osmosis(FO)...The discharge of industrial effluent containing heavy metal ions would cause water pollution if such effluent is not properly treated.In this work,the performance of emerging nanofiltration(NF)like-forward osmosis(FO)membrane was evaluated for its efficiency to remove copper ion from water.Conventionally,copper ion is removed from aqueous solution via adsorption and/or ion-exchange method.The engineered osmosis method as proposed in this work considered four commercial NF membranes(i.e.,NF90,DK,NDX and PFO)where their separation performances were accessed using synthetic water sample containing 100 mg·L-1 copper ion under FO and pressure retarded osmosis(PRO)orientation.The findings indicated that all membranes could achieve almost complete removal of copper regardless of membrane orientation without applying external driving force.The high removal rates were in good agreement with the outcomes of the membranes tested under pressuredriven mode at 1 MPa.The use of appropriate salts as draw solutes enabled the NF membranes to be employed in engineered osmosis process,achieving a relatively low reverse solute flux.The findings showed that the best performing membrane is PFO membrane in which it achieved N 99.4%copper rejection with very minimum reverse solute flux of<1 g·m-2·h-1.展开更多
In this study, we investigated the essential role of feed solution pH so as to gain insights into the transport mechanisms of succinic acid concentration by osmotically-driven forward osmosis (FO) process. FO perfor...In this study, we investigated the essential role of feed solution pH so as to gain insights into the transport mechanisms of succinic acid concentration by osmotically-driven forward osmosis (FO) process. FO performances including water flux and bidirectional transport of succinate and chloride anions were systematically examined using cellulose triacetate-based FO membrane. Additionally, real seawater was explored as draw solution. Experimental results revealed that the pH-dependent speciation of succinic acid can affect the FO performances. Ionization of succinic acid at higher solution pH enhanced the osmotic pressure of feed solution, thus leading to lower water flux performance. A strong effect was pointed out on the succinate rejection for which nearly 100% rejections were achieved at pH above its pKa2 value. The rejection of succinate increased in the following order of chemical form: C2H4C2O4H2 〈 C2H4C2OH- 〈 C2H4C2O24-. With real seawater as the draw solution, low to moderate water fluxes (〈4 L. m- 2. h- 1 ) were observed. The divalent succinate anion was highly retained in the feed side despite differences in the succinic acid feed concentration at pH of approximately 6.90.展开更多
As a potential solution to the crises of energy and resources, forward osmosis(FO) has been limited by the development of draw agents. An ideal draw agent should be able to generate high osmotic pressure and can be ea...As a potential solution to the crises of energy and resources, forward osmosis(FO) has been limited by the development of draw agents. An ideal draw agent should be able to generate high osmotic pressure and can be easily recovered. In this study, a thermo-sensitive polyelectrolyte of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)(PNA)is developed as an efficient draw agent, and two easy and simple methods are proposed to effectively recover the polyelectrolytes. After adjusting the pH value of polyelectrolyte solutions to around 6.0, the polyelectrolyte can generate relatively high osmotic pressure, and induce average water fluxes of 2.09 and 2.95 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) during12 h FO processes when the polyelectrolyte concentrations are 0.20 and 0.38 g·ml^(-1) respectively. After acidifying and heating to 70 °C, the PNA-10 polyelectrolyte can aggregate together because of hydrophobic association and separate from water, so it can be easily recovered by either simple centrifugation or gravitational sedimentation. The recovery ratios of PNA-10 polyelectrolyte in both methods are as high as 89%, and the recovered polyelectrolytes can be reused with almost the same FO performance as fresh ones. The results in this study provide valuable guidance for designing efficient and easily recoverable draw agents for FO processes.展开更多
Based on the layer by layer(Lb L)assembly technology,the nano-scale composite membrane with excellent structure can be prepared by changing the polyelectrolyte and controlling the deposition conditions.Polyamines and ...Based on the layer by layer(Lb L)assembly technology,the nano-scale composite membrane with excellent structure can be prepared by changing the polyelectrolyte and controlling the deposition conditions.Polyamines and phosphate ions(Pi)can be self-organized to form supramolecular systems which could be exploited to stabilize the interfacial architecture.The LbL membrane was made of the positively charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride)(PAH)self-organized with Pi and the negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate)(PSS)alternatively on top of a poly(acrylonitrile)(PAN)substrate.Compared to the membrane without Pi,the membrane assembled by PAH/Pi improved forward of flux and reduced flux of salt.The concentration of PAH and PSS,deposition time,pH and number of layers showed significant influences on the performance of the membrane.In this experiment,we systematically investigated the preparation conditions and under the optimized conditions the prepared membrane exhibited high water fluxes of 13.5 L m^-2 h^-1 with corresponding salt to water flux,Js/Jv,ratio of 0.07 g L^-1 tested by forward osmosis when DI water as feed solution and 2 mol L^-1 MgCl2 as draw solution.展开更多
Wastewater may contain high levels of the nutrients: nitrogen and phosphorus. Excessive release of nutrients to the environment can cause severe environmental problem such as eutrophication leading to algal blooms, ox...Wastewater may contain high levels of the nutrients: nitrogen and phosphorus. Excessive release of nutrients to the environment can cause severe environmental problem such as eutrophication leading to algal blooms, oxygen deficiency, and fish kills. The forward osmosis (FO) could be a choice of treatment. FO process presents the results of using four kinds of variation in concentration of magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as draw solution and the two kinds of commercial membranes for nutrient rejection in the same cross flow velocity at 0.25 m/s and temperature at 25°C. Nutrients consisting of nitrogen (nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium) and phosphorus (phosphate) in feed solution were successfully rejected with an efficiency of mostly more 95%. The water flux in membrane HTI-NW achieved lower 7.55 - 9.61 L/m2·hr than in membrane HTI-ES that exceeds until 13.58 - 15.10 L/m2·hr. The reverse solute in membrane HTI-NW is seemly constant along all concentration of DS MgCl2 that the chloride diffusion is slightly higher than magnesium. In membrane HTI-ES, the reverse solute of chloride was almost three times than that of magnesium. The concentration of MgCl2 plays a significant role in rejecting nutrients by the Donnan’s potential and the diffusion constant in low and high concentration of DS, respectively.展开更多
This study was performed to investigate the availability of forward osmosis(FO)for microalgae harvesting using sulfonated polyethersulfone(SPES)/PES porous membranes.In FO process,porous membranes(<25.0 L m^−2 h^−1...This study was performed to investigate the availability of forward osmosis(FO)for microalgae harvesting using sulfonated polyethersulfone(SPES)/PES porous membranes.In FO process,porous membranes(<25.0 L m^−2 h^−1)exhibited more superior water flux than TFC FO membranes(<2.6 L m^−2 h^−1).Furthermore,the incorporation of SPES has been demonstrated to enhance membrane performance.The effects of SPES content on pore structure and separation performance were investigated.Compared with pure PES porous membranes,porous membranes with 40%SPES yielded an improved hydrophilicity and greater porosity.It exhibited two times higher water fluxes than the pure PES porous membrane.For microalgae harvesting,AL-FS mode(active layer facing the feed solution)was more favourable than AL-DS mode(active layer facing the draw solution)because less deposited microalgae on the active layer mitigate the membrane biofouling.FO operation combined with SPES/PES porous membranes is conducive to preserving microalgae cell integrity under the mild condition.In addition,FO membrane can be cleaned by a simple water rinse.Potential implications were highlighted as a sustainable method for microalgae harvesting because of no pressure input and less chemical cleaning demand.展开更多
This study investigated the influence of temperature on the performance of forward osmosis(FO) under the condition that the feed solution(FS) temperature was diff erent from draw solution(DS) temperature. An FO model ...This study investigated the influence of temperature on the performance of forward osmosis(FO) under the condition that the feed solution(FS) temperature was diff erent from draw solution(DS) temperature. An FO model considering the mass and heat transfer between FS and DS was developed, and the FO experiment with ammonium bicarbonate solution as DS and sodium chloride solution as FS was carried out. The predicted water flux and reverse draw solute flux using the developed model coincided with the experimental fluxes. Increases in the temperature of FS or DS yield corresponding increases in the water flux, reverse draw solute flux, and forward rejection of feed solute. Compared with increasing the FS temperature, increasing the DS temperature has a more significant impact on enhancing FO performance. When the temperature of DS increased from 20 to 40 ℃, the specific reverse solute flux decreased from 0.231 to 0.190 mol/L.展开更多
Novel magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs),Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2),were prepared by loading different amounts of SiO_(2) or/and PEG-(COOH)_(2) onto Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles,and their feasib...Novel magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs),Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2),were prepared by loading different amounts of SiO_(2) or/and PEG-(COOH)_(2) onto Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles,and their feasibility to be used as forward osmosis(FO)draw solutes was investigated.The characterization of the materials showed that,compared to normal Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles,the modified MNPs exhibited enhanced dispersity and high osmotic pressure in aqueous solution.The FO experiment indicated that the synthesized draw solutes could obtain a water flux as high as 10 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) with an aquaporin FO membrane.The optimal concentration of the added tetraethyl orthosilicate was 30%during the synthesis.The novel MNPs could be easily recovered from draw solutions by magnetic field,and the recovery rate of Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) was 83.95%and 63.37%,respectively.Moreover,after 5 recycles of reuse,the water flux of Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) as draw solutes still remained 64.36%and 85.26%,respectively.The experimental results demonstrated that the synthesized core–shell magnetic nanoparticles are promising draw solutes,and the Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) was more suitable to be used as draw solute in FO process.展开更多
Increasing global water shortages are accelerating the pace of membrane manufacturing,which generates many environmentally harmful solvents.Such challenges need a radical rethink of developing innovative membranes tha...Increasing global water shortages are accelerating the pace of membrane manufacturing,which generates many environmentally harmful solvents.Such challenges need a radical rethink of developing innovative membranes that can address freshwater production without generating environmentally harmful solvents.This work utilized the synthesized ultra-long hydroxyapatite(UHA)by the solvothermal method using the green solvent oleic acid in preparing UHA-based forward osmosis membranes.The membranes were developed using different loading ratios of graphene oxide(GO)by vacuum-assisted filtration technique.The prepared GO/UHA membranes were identified using X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscope,Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Water contact angle and pore size distribution were determined for the obtained GO/UHA membranes.The obtained hierarchical porous structure in the prepared membranes with interconnected channels results in a stable water flux with reverse salt flux.The best water flux rate of 42±2 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1)was achieved using the 50 mg GO/UHA membrane,which is 3.3 times higher than the pristine membrane,and a reverse salt flux of 67 g·m^(-2)·h^(–1).The obtained results showed a promising capability of a new generation of sustainable inorganic-based membranes that can be utilized in freshwater generation by energy-efficient techniques such as forward osmosis.展开更多
As a high-flux operation mode of thin film composite-forward osmosis(TFC-FO)membrane,active layer facing draw solution(AL-DS)mode suffers from the severe membrane fouling tendency,which is not addressed well.Here,we i...As a high-flux operation mode of thin film composite-forward osmosis(TFC-FO)membrane,active layer facing draw solution(AL-DS)mode suffers from the severe membrane fouling tendency,which is not addressed well.Here,we introduced a photocatalyst(Anatase titanium dioxide,A-TiO_(2))onto the support layer of TFC-FO membrane via the bonding of polydopamine(PDA)and polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE),and prepared two photocatalytic membranes,A-TiO_(2)/PDA@TFC and A-TiO_(2)/PTFE@TFC.Compared with the pristine TFC-FO membrane,both A-Ti O_(2)/PDA@TFC and A-TiO_(2)/PTFE@TFC had an improved water permeability(10.5 L m^(-2)h^(-1)and 9.5 L m^(-2)h^(-1),respectively)and reduced reverse Na Cl flux salt(0.8 g m^(-2)h^(-1)and 0.7 g m^(-2)h^(-1),respectively)in the AL-DS mode using 1 mol/L Na Cl as draw solution and pure water as feed solution.Moreover,in the 16 h fouling experiment using 200 ppm bovine serum albumin(BSA)solution as a representative pollutant,the flux decline rate of both photocatalytic membranes was dramatically alleviated from 39.7%and 21.7%in the darkness to 8.5%and 9.7%under UV irradiation,respectively,indicating a significant anti-fouling capacity of photocatalytic effect.In all,the presence of A-TiO_(2)endowed membrane with high permeability,high rejection efficiency and excellent anti-fouling capacity under UV spotlight.As bonding agent,PTFE provided the modified membrane with a high photocatalytic effect and high self-cleaning capacity,while PDA increased the membrane permeability and protected membrane against photocatalytic damage.This work provides a simple and feasible method to improve the anti-fouling capacity of TFC-FO membrane in AL-DS mode.展开更多
To improve operation efficiency,an interlayered thin-film composite forward osmosis(iTFC-FO)membrane was designed by introducing an ultrathin and porous interlayer based on aluminum tetra-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin(a ...To improve operation efficiency,an interlayered thin-film composite forward osmosis(iTFC-FO)membrane was designed by introducing an ultrathin and porous interlayer based on aluminum tetra-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin(a stable metal-organic framework nanosheet,Al-MOF).Surface characterization results revealed that Al-MoF spread evenly in the macro-porous substrate,and provided a flat and smooth reaction interface with moderate hydrophilicity and uniform small aperture.The resultant polyamide(PA)layer had a thin base(without intrusion into substrate)and crumpled surface(with abundant leaves).The leaves size and cross-linking degree of PA layer firstly increased and then decreased with the Al-MOF loading.Compared to the original membrane,the iTFC-FO showed an enhanced water permeability and a reduced reverse sodium flux in both modes of active layer facing feed solution(ALFS)and active layer facing draw solution(AL-DS).To be specific,the specific reverse sodium flux(reverse sodium flux/pure water flux)decreased from 0.27 g/L to 0.04 g/L in the AL-FS mode,while from 1.36 g/L to 0.23 g/L in the AL-DS mode with 2 mol/L NaCl as DS.Moreover,the iTFC-FO maintained high stability and high permeability under high-salinity and contaminated environment.This study offers a new possibility for the rational fabrication of high-performance TFC-FO membranes.展开更多
In this paper,graphene oxide quantum dots with amino groups(NH_(2)-GOQDs)were tailored to the surface of a thin-film composite(TFC)membrane surface for optimizing forward osmosis(FO)membrane performance using the amid...In this paper,graphene oxide quantum dots with amino groups(NH_(2)-GOQDs)were tailored to the surface of a thin-film composite(TFC)membrane surface for optimizing forward osmosis(FO)membrane performance using the amide coupling reaction.The results jointly demonstrated hydrophilicity and surface roughness of the membrane enhanced after grafting NH_(2)-GOQDs,leading to the optimized affinity and the contact area between the membrane and water molecules.Therefore,grafting of the membrane with a concentration of 100 ppm(TFC-100)exhibited excellent permeability performance(58.32 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1))compared with TFC membrane(16.94 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1)).In the evaluation of static antibacterial properties of membranes,TFC-100 membrane destroyed the cell morphology of Escherichia coli(E.coli)and reduced the degree of bacterial adsorption.In the dynamic biofouling experiment,TFC-100 membrane showed a lower flux decline than TFC membrane.After the physical cleaning,the flux of TFC-100 membrane could recover to 96%of the initial flux,which was notably better than that of TFC membrane(63%).Additionally,the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek analysis of the affinity between pollutants and membrane surface verified that NH_(2)-GOQDs alleviates E.coli contamination of membrane.This work highlights the potential applications of NH_(2)-GOQDs for optimizing permeability and biofouling mitigation of FO membranes.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Project no.21176265)Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan(Project no.2014GK3106).
文摘Investigation was made on the efficiency of two commercial membranes in removing via forward osmosis(FO)the low molecular weight organic compounds typical of coking wastewater. The membranes were supplied by Poten and HTI companies. The organics in the simulated coking water were indole and pyrridine. Under FO mode, the rejection to the organics by Poten membrane was around 50%, whereas that for HTI membrane was obviously higher, ranging from 65% to 74%. The response of the two membranes in terms of Water flux and reverse salt flux(RSF) towards changing feed/draw solution(DS) flow rates in FO mode showed similar tendency,but different degree. Generally, the flux in FO using HTI membranes was lower. For HTI membrane, FO operated with pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) mode was also performed and the overall rejection of the organics was slightly lower than that in FO mode. In the long term FO test within 15 days, both Poten and HTI membranes displayed flux reduction and rejection enhancement. But the variation with Poten membrane was much more obvious. Discussion was carried out about the reasons and the mechanisms behind the FO performance difference between two membranes and the variation in flux and rejection with operation conditions. Characterizations by SEM, FTIR, AFM, XRD and XPS were tried to support the proposed explanations.
文摘Separate treatment of high-nutrient sidestream is an efficient and cost effective way to decrease the loading on the main plant, resulting in lower effluent nutrient concentration. This study investigated the use of a combined forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) system for the removal of nitrogen present in high concentration in sidestream from anaerobic digestion process. The combined system was able to achieve almost 100% rejection of solids and acetic acid, and more than 98% rejection of NH3-N from the sidestream. The high rejection of NH3-N was mainly achieved by the FO process. The solids in the feed solution contributed to fouling problem in both FO and MD, resulting in significant decline in flux. However, 76% or higher flux recovery was achieved for FO membrane by cleaning with tap water. We observed that flux recovery was due to removal of solids from the membrane surface by the cleaning process. FO membrane also demonstrated excellent performance for continuous operation when cleaned for 15 min in every 24 h interval. Overall, the combined FO-MD system was found to be an effective solution for treatment of nutrient rich sidestream.
文摘Forward osmosis(FO), as an emerging technology, is influenced by different factors such as operating conditions,module characteristics, and membrane properties. The general aim of this study was to develop a suitable(flexible,comprehensive, and convenient to use) computational tool which is able to simulate osmosis through an asymmetric membrane oriented in pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) mode in a wide variety of scenarios. For this purpose, an agent-based model was created in NetLogo platform, which is an easy-to-use application environment with graphical visualization abilities and well suited for modeling a complex system evolving over time. The simulation results were validated with empirical data obtained from literature and a great agreement was observed. The effect of various parameters on process performance was investigated in terms of temperature,cross-flow velocity, length of the module, pure water permeability coefficient, and structural parameter of the membrane. Results demonstrated that the increase in all parameters, except structural parameter of the membrane and the length of module led to the increase of average water flux. Moreover, nine different draw solutes were selected in order to assess the influence of net bulk osmotic pressure difference between the draw solution(DS) and feed solution(FS)(known as the driving force of FO process) on water flux. Based on the findings of this paper, the performance of FO process(PRO mode) can be efficiently evaluated using the NetL ogo platform.
基金Supported by the National Research Foundation-Prime Minister's office,Republic of Singapore(Grant#R-279-000-337-281)
文摘Forward osmosis(FO), as one of the emerging desalination technologies, has the potential to produce fresh water from a variety of water sources by utilizing the osmotic pressure gradient across a semi-permeable membrane.Draw solution, as an essential component of any FO process, can extract water molecules from seawater or wastewater. An ideal draw solution should meet three essential requirements, namely high osmotic pressure, low reverse flux, and facile regeneration mechanism. The selection of proper draw solutes is especially critical for an energy-efficient FO process since the energy consumption mostly arises from the separation or regeneration of the draw solution. Recently, we developed a few multi-functional FO draw solutes, mainly aiming to enhance the FO water flux and to explore facile re-concentration methods. This review summarizes these draw solutes,including Na^+_- functionalized carbon quantum dots, thermoresponsive copolymers, hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticles, and thermoresponsive magnetic nanoparticles.
基金the financial support provided by the Malaysian Ministry of Education(Mo E)under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme(Grant No.R.J130000.7851.5F017)Universiti Teknologi Malaysia(UTM)under the UTMSHINE Signature Grant(Grant No.Q.J130000.2451.07G79).
文摘The discharge of industrial effluent containing heavy metal ions would cause water pollution if such effluent is not properly treated.In this work,the performance of emerging nanofiltration(NF)like-forward osmosis(FO)membrane was evaluated for its efficiency to remove copper ion from water.Conventionally,copper ion is removed from aqueous solution via adsorption and/or ion-exchange method.The engineered osmosis method as proposed in this work considered four commercial NF membranes(i.e.,NF90,DK,NDX and PFO)where their separation performances were accessed using synthetic water sample containing 100 mg·L-1 copper ion under FO and pressure retarded osmosis(PRO)orientation.The findings indicated that all membranes could achieve almost complete removal of copper regardless of membrane orientation without applying external driving force.The high removal rates were in good agreement with the outcomes of the membranes tested under pressuredriven mode at 1 MPa.The use of appropriate salts as draw solutes enabled the NF membranes to be employed in engineered osmosis process,achieving a relatively low reverse solute flux.The findings showed that the best performing membrane is PFO membrane in which it achieved N 99.4%copper rejection with very minimum reverse solute flux of<1 g·m-2·h-1.
基金the financial support for this work provided by the LRGS/2013/UKM-UKM/PT/03 grant from the Ministry of Education Malaysia
文摘In this study, we investigated the essential role of feed solution pH so as to gain insights into the transport mechanisms of succinic acid concentration by osmotically-driven forward osmosis (FO) process. FO performances including water flux and bidirectional transport of succinate and chloride anions were systematically examined using cellulose triacetate-based FO membrane. Additionally, real seawater was explored as draw solution. Experimental results revealed that the pH-dependent speciation of succinic acid can affect the FO performances. Ionization of succinic acid at higher solution pH enhanced the osmotic pressure of feed solution, thus leading to lower water flux performance. A strong effect was pointed out on the succinate rejection for which nearly 100% rejections were achieved at pH above its pKa2 value. The rejection of succinate increased in the following order of chemical form: C2H4C2O4H2 〈 C2H4C2OH- 〈 C2H4C2O24-. With real seawater as the draw solution, low to moderate water fluxes (〈4 L. m- 2. h- 1 ) were observed. The divalent succinate anion was highly retained in the feed side despite differences in the succinic acid feed concentration at pH of approximately 6.90.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21276162)the Program for Yangtse River Scholars and Innovative Research Team in Universities(IRT1163)
文摘As a potential solution to the crises of energy and resources, forward osmosis(FO) has been limited by the development of draw agents. An ideal draw agent should be able to generate high osmotic pressure and can be easily recovered. In this study, a thermo-sensitive polyelectrolyte of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)(PNA)is developed as an efficient draw agent, and two easy and simple methods are proposed to effectively recover the polyelectrolytes. After adjusting the pH value of polyelectrolyte solutions to around 6.0, the polyelectrolyte can generate relatively high osmotic pressure, and induce average water fluxes of 2.09 and 2.95 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) during12 h FO processes when the polyelectrolyte concentrations are 0.20 and 0.38 g·ml^(-1) respectively. After acidifying and heating to 70 °C, the PNA-10 polyelectrolyte can aggregate together because of hydrophobic association and separate from water, so it can be easily recovered by either simple centrifugation or gravitational sedimentation. The recovery ratios of PNA-10 polyelectrolyte in both methods are as high as 89%, and the recovered polyelectrolytes can be reused with almost the same FO performance as fresh ones. The results in this study provide valuable guidance for designing efficient and easily recoverable draw agents for FO processes.
基金financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21476219)Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. QNLM 2016ORP0308)
文摘Based on the layer by layer(Lb L)assembly technology,the nano-scale composite membrane with excellent structure can be prepared by changing the polyelectrolyte and controlling the deposition conditions.Polyamines and phosphate ions(Pi)can be self-organized to form supramolecular systems which could be exploited to stabilize the interfacial architecture.The LbL membrane was made of the positively charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride)(PAH)self-organized with Pi and the negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate)(PSS)alternatively on top of a poly(acrylonitrile)(PAN)substrate.Compared to the membrane without Pi,the membrane assembled by PAH/Pi improved forward of flux and reduced flux of salt.The concentration of PAH and PSS,deposition time,pH and number of layers showed significant influences on the performance of the membrane.In this experiment,we systematically investigated the preparation conditions and under the optimized conditions the prepared membrane exhibited high water fluxes of 13.5 L m^-2 h^-1 with corresponding salt to water flux,Js/Jv,ratio of 0.07 g L^-1 tested by forward osmosis when DI water as feed solution and 2 mol L^-1 MgCl2 as draw solution.
文摘Wastewater may contain high levels of the nutrients: nitrogen and phosphorus. Excessive release of nutrients to the environment can cause severe environmental problem such as eutrophication leading to algal blooms, oxygen deficiency, and fish kills. The forward osmosis (FO) could be a choice of treatment. FO process presents the results of using four kinds of variation in concentration of magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as draw solution and the two kinds of commercial membranes for nutrient rejection in the same cross flow velocity at 0.25 m/s and temperature at 25°C. Nutrients consisting of nitrogen (nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium) and phosphorus (phosphate) in feed solution were successfully rejected with an efficiency of mostly more 95%. The water flux in membrane HTI-NW achieved lower 7.55 - 9.61 L/m2·hr than in membrane HTI-ES that exceeds until 13.58 - 15.10 L/m2·hr. The reverse solute in membrane HTI-NW is seemly constant along all concentration of DS MgCl2 that the chloride diffusion is slightly higher than magnesium. In membrane HTI-ES, the reverse solute of chloride was almost three times than that of magnesium. The concentration of MgCl2 plays a significant role in rejecting nutrients by the Donnan’s potential and the diffusion constant in low and high concentration of DS, respectively.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21576250)the Key Research Project of Shandong Province(No.2018CXGC 1003),and the Young Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province.
文摘This study was performed to investigate the availability of forward osmosis(FO)for microalgae harvesting using sulfonated polyethersulfone(SPES)/PES porous membranes.In FO process,porous membranes(<25.0 L m^−2 h^−1)exhibited more superior water flux than TFC FO membranes(<2.6 L m^−2 h^−1).Furthermore,the incorporation of SPES has been demonstrated to enhance membrane performance.The effects of SPES content on pore structure and separation performance were investigated.Compared with pure PES porous membranes,porous membranes with 40%SPES yielded an improved hydrophilicity and greater porosity.It exhibited two times higher water fluxes than the pure PES porous membrane.For microalgae harvesting,AL-FS mode(active layer facing the feed solution)was more favourable than AL-DS mode(active layer facing the draw solution)because less deposited microalgae on the active layer mitigate the membrane biofouling.FO operation combined with SPES/PES porous membranes is conducive to preserving microalgae cell integrity under the mild condition.In addition,FO membrane can be cleaned by a simple water rinse.Potential implications were highlighted as a sustainable method for microalgae harvesting because of no pressure input and less chemical cleaning demand.
基金supported by The National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0401202)
文摘This study investigated the influence of temperature on the performance of forward osmosis(FO) under the condition that the feed solution(FS) temperature was diff erent from draw solution(DS) temperature. An FO model considering the mass and heat transfer between FS and DS was developed, and the FO experiment with ammonium bicarbonate solution as DS and sodium chloride solution as FS was carried out. The predicted water flux and reverse draw solute flux using the developed model coincided with the experimental fluxes. Increases in the temperature of FS or DS yield corresponding increases in the water flux, reverse draw solute flux, and forward rejection of feed solute. Compared with increasing the FS temperature, increasing the DS temperature has a more significant impact on enhancing FO performance. When the temperature of DS increased from 20 to 40 ℃, the specific reverse solute flux decreased from 0.231 to 0.190 mol/L.
文摘Novel magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs),Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2),were prepared by loading different amounts of SiO_(2) or/and PEG-(COOH)_(2) onto Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles,and their feasibility to be used as forward osmosis(FO)draw solutes was investigated.The characterization of the materials showed that,compared to normal Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles,the modified MNPs exhibited enhanced dispersity and high osmotic pressure in aqueous solution.The FO experiment indicated that the synthesized draw solutes could obtain a water flux as high as 10 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) with an aquaporin FO membrane.The optimal concentration of the added tetraethyl orthosilicate was 30%during the synthesis.The novel MNPs could be easily recovered from draw solutions by magnetic field,and the recovery rate of Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) was 83.95%and 63.37%,respectively.Moreover,after 5 recycles of reuse,the water flux of Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2) and Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) as draw solutes still remained 64.36%and 85.26%,respectively.The experimental results demonstrated that the synthesized core–shell magnetic nanoparticles are promising draw solutes,and the Fe_(3)O_(4)@SiO_(2)@PEG-(COOH)_(2) was more suitable to be used as draw solute in FO process.
基金received fund through the CNR-ASRT(Italy-Egypt)2022-2023 international Exchanges(project ID:18775)the Science and Technology Development Fund(STDF),projects ID 41528 and 43224。
文摘Increasing global water shortages are accelerating the pace of membrane manufacturing,which generates many environmentally harmful solvents.Such challenges need a radical rethink of developing innovative membranes that can address freshwater production without generating environmentally harmful solvents.This work utilized the synthesized ultra-long hydroxyapatite(UHA)by the solvothermal method using the green solvent oleic acid in preparing UHA-based forward osmosis membranes.The membranes were developed using different loading ratios of graphene oxide(GO)by vacuum-assisted filtration technique.The prepared GO/UHA membranes were identified using X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscope,Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Water contact angle and pore size distribution were determined for the obtained GO/UHA membranes.The obtained hierarchical porous structure in the prepared membranes with interconnected channels results in a stable water flux with reverse salt flux.The best water flux rate of 42±2 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1)was achieved using the 50 mg GO/UHA membrane,which is 3.3 times higher than the pristine membrane,and a reverse salt flux of 67 g·m^(-2)·h^(–1).The obtained results showed a promising capability of a new generation of sustainable inorganic-based membranes that can be utilized in freshwater generation by energy-efficient techniques such as forward osmosis.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52100089 and 51978312)the Six Major Talent Peaks of Jiangsu Province(No.2018-JNHB-014)Youth Fund of Basic Research Program of Jiangnan University(No.JUSRP121058)。
文摘As a high-flux operation mode of thin film composite-forward osmosis(TFC-FO)membrane,active layer facing draw solution(AL-DS)mode suffers from the severe membrane fouling tendency,which is not addressed well.Here,we introduced a photocatalyst(Anatase titanium dioxide,A-TiO_(2))onto the support layer of TFC-FO membrane via the bonding of polydopamine(PDA)and polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE),and prepared two photocatalytic membranes,A-TiO_(2)/PDA@TFC and A-TiO_(2)/PTFE@TFC.Compared with the pristine TFC-FO membrane,both A-Ti O_(2)/PDA@TFC and A-TiO_(2)/PTFE@TFC had an improved water permeability(10.5 L m^(-2)h^(-1)and 9.5 L m^(-2)h^(-1),respectively)and reduced reverse Na Cl flux salt(0.8 g m^(-2)h^(-1)and 0.7 g m^(-2)h^(-1),respectively)in the AL-DS mode using 1 mol/L Na Cl as draw solution and pure water as feed solution.Moreover,in the 16 h fouling experiment using 200 ppm bovine serum albumin(BSA)solution as a representative pollutant,the flux decline rate of both photocatalytic membranes was dramatically alleviated from 39.7%and 21.7%in the darkness to 8.5%and 9.7%under UV irradiation,respectively,indicating a significant anti-fouling capacity of photocatalytic effect.In all,the presence of A-TiO_(2)endowed membrane with high permeability,high rejection efficiency and excellent anti-fouling capacity under UV spotlight.As bonding agent,PTFE provided the modified membrane with a high photocatalytic effect and high self-cleaning capacity,while PDA increased the membrane permeability and protected membrane against photocatalytic damage.This work provides a simple and feasible method to improve the anti-fouling capacity of TFC-FO membrane in AL-DS mode.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52100089 and 51978312)the Program to Cultivate Middle-aged and Young Science Leaders of Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu Province and Youth Fund of Basic Research Program of Jiangnan University(No.JUSRP121058).
文摘To improve operation efficiency,an interlayered thin-film composite forward osmosis(iTFC-FO)membrane was designed by introducing an ultrathin and porous interlayer based on aluminum tetra-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin(a stable metal-organic framework nanosheet,Al-MOF).Surface characterization results revealed that Al-MoF spread evenly in the macro-porous substrate,and provided a flat and smooth reaction interface with moderate hydrophilicity and uniform small aperture.The resultant polyamide(PA)layer had a thin base(without intrusion into substrate)and crumpled surface(with abundant leaves).The leaves size and cross-linking degree of PA layer firstly increased and then decreased with the Al-MOF loading.Compared to the original membrane,the iTFC-FO showed an enhanced water permeability and a reduced reverse sodium flux in both modes of active layer facing feed solution(ALFS)and active layer facing draw solution(AL-DS).To be specific,the specific reverse sodium flux(reverse sodium flux/pure water flux)decreased from 0.27 g/L to 0.04 g/L in the AL-FS mode,while from 1.36 g/L to 0.23 g/L in the AL-DS mode with 2 mol/L NaCl as DS.Moreover,the iTFC-FO maintained high stability and high permeability under high-salinity and contaminated environment.This study offers a new possibility for the rational fabrication of high-performance TFC-FO membranes.
基金The work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.22108203).
文摘In this paper,graphene oxide quantum dots with amino groups(NH_(2)-GOQDs)were tailored to the surface of a thin-film composite(TFC)membrane surface for optimizing forward osmosis(FO)membrane performance using the amide coupling reaction.The results jointly demonstrated hydrophilicity and surface roughness of the membrane enhanced after grafting NH_(2)-GOQDs,leading to the optimized affinity and the contact area between the membrane and water molecules.Therefore,grafting of the membrane with a concentration of 100 ppm(TFC-100)exhibited excellent permeability performance(58.32 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1))compared with TFC membrane(16.94 L·m^(–2)·h^(–1)).In the evaluation of static antibacterial properties of membranes,TFC-100 membrane destroyed the cell morphology of Escherichia coli(E.coli)and reduced the degree of bacterial adsorption.In the dynamic biofouling experiment,TFC-100 membrane showed a lower flux decline than TFC membrane.After the physical cleaning,the flux of TFC-100 membrane could recover to 96%of the initial flux,which was notably better than that of TFC membrane(63%).Additionally,the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek analysis of the affinity between pollutants and membrane surface verified that NH_(2)-GOQDs alleviates E.coli contamination of membrane.This work highlights the potential applications of NH_(2)-GOQDs for optimizing permeability and biofouling mitigation of FO membranes.