Janus membranes for membrane distillation: Recent advances and challenges

Morteza Afsari; Ho Kyong Shon; Leonard D Tijing

doi:10.1016/j.cis.2021.102362

Janus membranes for membrane distillation: Recent advances and challenges

Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Mar:289:102362. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102362. Epub 2021 Jan 27.

Authors

Morteza Afsari¹, Ho Kyong Shon¹, Leonard D Tijing²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, P. O. Box 123, 15 Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
² Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, P. O. Box 123, 15 Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: leonard.tijing@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 33607551
DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102362

Abstract

Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising hybrid thermal-membrane separation technology that can efficiently produce freshwater from seawater or contaminated wastewater. However, the relatively low flux and the presence of fouling or wetting agents in feed solution negate the applicability of MD for long term operation. In recent years, 'two-faced' membranes or Janus membranes have shown promising potential to decrease wetting and fouling problem of common MD system as well as enhance the flux performance. In this review, a comprehensive study was performed to investigate the various fabrication, modification, and novel design processes to prepare Janus membranes and discuss their performance in desalination and wastewater treatment utilizing MD. The promising potential, challenges and future prospects relating to the design and use of Janus membranes for MD are also tackled in this review.

Keywords: Desalination; Janus membrane; Membrane distillation; Membrane fabrication; Wastewater treatment.

Publication types

Review