Outer-selective pressure-retarded osmosis hollow fiber membranes from vacuum-assisted interfacial polymerization for osmotic power generation

Environ Sci Technol. 2013 Nov 19;47(22):13167-74. doi: 10.1021/es403270n. Epub 2013 Oct 28.

Abstract

In this paper, we report the technical breakthroughs to synthesize outer-selective thin-film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membranes, which is in an urgent need for osmotic power generation with the pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) process. In the first step, a defect-free thin-film composite membrane module is achieved by vacuum-assisted interfacial polymerization. The PRO performance is further enhanced by optimizing the support in terms of pore size and mechanical strength and the TFC layer with polydopamine coating and molecular engineering of the interfacial polymerization solution. The newly developed membranes can stand over 20 bar with a peak power density of 7.63 W/m(2), which is equivalent to 13.72 W/m(2) of its inner-selective hollow fiber counterpart with the same module size, packing density, and fiber dimensions. The study may provide insightful guidelines for optimizing the interfacial polymerization procedures and scaling up of the outer-selective TFC hollow fiber membrane modules for PRO power generation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Energy-Generating Resources*
  • Indoles / chemistry
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Molecular Weight
  • Osmotic Pressure*
  • Permeability
  • Polymerization*
  • Polymers / chemistry
  • Porosity
  • Pressure*
  • Vacuum*

Substances

  • Indoles
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Polymers
  • polydopamine