Abstract
ZSM-22/polyethersulfone membranes were prepared for salt rejection using modelled brackish water. The membranes were fabricated via direct ZSM-22 incorporation into a polymer matrix, thereby inducing the water permeability, hydrophilicity and fouling resistance of the pristine polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. A ZSM-22 zeolite material with a 60 Si/Al ratio, high crystallinity and needle-like morphologies was produced and effectively used as a nanoadditive in the development of ZSM-22/PES membranes with nominal loadings of 0–0.75 wt.%. The characterisation and membrane performance evaluation of the resulting materials with XRD, BET, FTIR, TEM, SEM and contact angle as well as dead-end cell, respectively, showed improved water permeability in comparison with the pristine PES membrane. These ZSM-22/PES membranes were found to be more effective and superior in the processing of modelled brackish water. The salt rejection of the prepared membranes for NaCl and MgCl2 was effective, while they exhibited quite improved water flux and flux recovery ratios in the membrane permeability and anti-fouling test. This indicates that different amounts of ZSM-22 nanoadditives produce widely divergent influences on the performance of the pristine PES membrane. As such, over 55% of salt rejection is observed, which means that the obtained membranes are effective in salt removal from water.
Highlights
The global demand for freshwater is increasing every day due to high population growth and industrial development
ZSM-22 is embedded in the PES matrix to result in NF membranes with up to 55% and 65% rejection rates for NaCl and MgCl2, respectively
The zeolitic materials were incorporated into PES membranes through phase inversion
Summary
The global demand for freshwater is increasing every day due to high population growth and industrial development. Due to the polymer membrane’s shortcomings, such as fouling, high hydrophobicity and short functional lifetime, more work needs to be done in the redesigning and modifying of nanocomposite membrane materials [7,8,9,10,11] In consideration of these limitations, the scope for membrane modification has widened for different applications, such as the desalination and distillation of radiative waste and salt solutions [12,13,14]. They have gained much consideration in the derivation of composite membrane materials owing to their external surface properties such as silinol, their negatively charged framework, shape selectivity and pore size exclusion [44,45,46,47] These features promote high interaction between the polymer and additive as well with the solute cations and anions. ZSM-22 is embedded in the PES matrix to result in NF membranes with up to 55% and 65% rejection rates for NaCl and MgCl2 , respectively
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