Assessment of commercialized nylon membranes integrated with thin layer of MWCNTs for potential use in desalination process

Abstract

In this work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) will be implemented as a coating material on commercial membranes (nylon) using Trix as a surfactant. Four masses of MWCNTs (5, 15, 30, and 60 mg) were used in the coating process. Many parameters were measured for both nylon and the four coated membranes. These parameters include their electrical properties, wettability, mechanical properties, surface and textural properties, permeability and rejection of salt. The findings indicated that Elongation within the range of 2.7–18%, tensile strength within the range of 2.5–3.4 MPa, and Young's moduli in the range of 63–154 MPa were found in the fabricated membranes arising from MWCNTs and surfactants dispersions. The performance of membrane rejection was examined using NaCl or MgSO4 single salts. The fabricated membrane containing 60 mg of MWCNTs, on the other hand, can reject electrolytes with a very low rejection ratio of less than 14% for NaCl and 10% for MgSO4. This made as ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, and therefore they can be used as pre-treatment membranes in desalination processes. Future study is required to improve the rejection of these coated membranes by adding more additives such as polymers or biopolymers.