Engineered Janus cellulose membrane with the asymmetric-pore structure for the superhigh-water flux desalination

Hongmei Yuan; Ran Hao; Haodong Sun; Wenchao Zeng; Junkang Lin; Shengchang Lu; Meiqiong Yu; Shan Lin; Jianguo Li; Lihui Chen

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119601

Engineered Janus cellulose membrane with the asymmetric-pore structure for the superhigh-water flux desalination

Carbohydr Polym. 2022 Sep 1:291:119601. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119601. Epub 2022 May 10.

Authors

Hongmei Yuan¹, Ran Hao¹, Haodong Sun¹, Wenchao Zeng¹, Junkang Lin¹, Shengchang Lu², Meiqiong Yu³, Shan Lin⁴, Jianguo Li⁵, Lihui Chen⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: lsc0608@hotmail.com.
³ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuqing 350300, China.
⁴ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
⁵ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: jianguolicn@fafu.edu.cn.
⁶ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: lihuichen@fafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35698404
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119601

Abstract

Membranes are the dominant material for seawater desalination and clean-water harvesting, which are commonly composed of synthetic polymers, showing low hydrophilicity and environmental hazard. Herein, we developed a low-cost, intrinsically green, superhigh-water flux Janus cellulose membrane (CEM) via a facile cellulase etching strategy. Coating cellulase on the single surface of cellulose membrane (such as top surface), triggers effective etching on its top section rather than bottom section, which architects an asymmetric-pore structure of the Janus CEM including porous top-and dense bottom-layer. Such distinction endows the Janus CEM with an unprecedented high-water flux of 135.75 LMH and a low salt-water ratio of 0.29 g·L^-1 for 1 M NaCl solution, which is 17-time higher and 62-time lower than that of the pristine CEM. Our Janus CEM enables a promising participant for the advanced membrane materials toward versatile separation engineering.

Keywords: Cellulase etching; Forward osmosis; Membrane separation; Natural cellulose.

MeSH terms

Cellulases*
Cellulose / chemistry
Humans
Membranes, Artificial
Osmosis
Water / chemistry
Water Purification*

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Water
Cellulose
Cellulases