Access to clean water continues to be the most urgent and pressing global issue. The increasing scarcity of freshwater sources and the global demand for water is expected to grow in the oncoming decades which urge the need to develop alternative water supplies, including seawater desalination, reuse and recycling of wastewater. Membrane-based separations for water treatment and desalination are playing an increasingly important role to provide adequate water resources of desirable quality for a wide spectrum of designated applications. H2020-MSCA-IF-project "Enhanced-MUMs" targets the development of advanced multifunctional and low-cost polymeric membranes for water treatment and desalination. The project is a multidisciplinary one and its main innovation resides in the combination of (1) enhanced structural properties: high porosity and reinforcement, for improved water treatment and desalination characteristics and (2) light-induced antifouling and antimicrobial activity based on the loading of photosensitizers in the polymeric membrane. The current work represents optimization of the preparation conditions of cellulose acetate membranes by phase inversion technique using automatic film applicator and water as a coagulation medium. The prepared bare membranes have a well-defined anisotropic microscopic structure with a pure water flux range from 150 L/m2.h to 990 L/m2.h using different membrane thickness and under different applied pressure. Modified membranes have been prepared using salt coagulation bath as well as in-situ salt addition to the polymer solution during the membrane fabrication. It was found that the preparation conditions greatly affect the microscopic and surface characteristics. The project also aims to: improve the microscopic structure with regard to the pore size and structure and improve the mechanical properties of the modified membranes. In addition, the project aims also to study and control the fouling characteristics of the membranes by imparting photo-induced properties for enhanced antimicrobial and antifouling effects.
Enhanced multi-functional membranes for water treatment and desalination: Optimization of the fabrication conditions
Franco Corticelli;Denis Gentili;Vittorio Morandi;Massimiliano Cavallini;Barbara Ventura
2019
Abstract
Access to clean water continues to be the most urgent and pressing global issue. The increasing scarcity of freshwater sources and the global demand for water is expected to grow in the oncoming decades which urge the need to develop alternative water supplies, including seawater desalination, reuse and recycling of wastewater. Membrane-based separations for water treatment and desalination are playing an increasingly important role to provide adequate water resources of desirable quality for a wide spectrum of designated applications. H2020-MSCA-IF-project "Enhanced-MUMs" targets the development of advanced multifunctional and low-cost polymeric membranes for water treatment and desalination. The project is a multidisciplinary one and its main innovation resides in the combination of (1) enhanced structural properties: high porosity and reinforcement, for improved water treatment and desalination characteristics and (2) light-induced antifouling and antimicrobial activity based on the loading of photosensitizers in the polymeric membrane. The current work represents optimization of the preparation conditions of cellulose acetate membranes by phase inversion technique using automatic film applicator and water as a coagulation medium. The prepared bare membranes have a well-defined anisotropic microscopic structure with a pure water flux range from 150 L/m2.h to 990 L/m2.h using different membrane thickness and under different applied pressure. Modified membranes have been prepared using salt coagulation bath as well as in-situ salt addition to the polymer solution during the membrane fabrication. It was found that the preparation conditions greatly affect the microscopic and surface characteristics. The project also aims to: improve the microscopic structure with regard to the pore size and structure and improve the mechanical properties of the modified membranes. In addition, the project aims also to study and control the fouling characteristics of the membranes by imparting photo-induced properties for enhanced antimicrobial and antifouling effects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
