Biodegradable, biomimetic, and nanonet-engineered membranes enable high-flux and highly-efficient oil/water separation

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Jul 15:434:128858. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128858. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Abstract

Porous membranes with fascinating super-wettable surface and tunable porous architecture for oil-water separation have been developed rapidly, however, the serious secondary marine pollution caused by the non-degradable defectiveness of membranes themselves is still a thorny problem. Herein, we create an eco-friendly membrane with biomimetic cobweb-like nanostructure via assembling two-dimensional bacterial cellulose nanonets on the starch nanofibrous membrane on a large scale. The obtained novel composite membranes exhibit integrated properties of sub-micron pore size, ultrahigh porosity, superhydrophilicity, and underwater superoleophobicity, stemming from the synergistic effect of the hydrated nanonet-skin-layer and porous starch matrix. By virtue of the narrow-distributed sub-micron pores, ultrahigh porosity, and ultrathin thickness, the resulting membrane shows outstanding performance of excellent separation efficiency (up to 99.996%), high percolation flux (maximum of 15968 L m-2 h-1), well surpassing the conventional microfiltration membranes. More significantly, with the advantage of biodegradability and anti-oil-fouling property, the membrane could serve as the robust platform for long-term wastewater remediation.

Keywords: 2D Nanonet; Biomimetic nanostructure; Environmental friendly; Oil in water emulsion; Oil/water separation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomimetics
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Starch
  • Wastewater
  • Water Purification* / methods

Substances

  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Waste Water
  • Starch