A PEI/TMC membrane modified with an ionic liquid with enhanced permeability and antibacterial properties for the removal of heavy metal ions

Xin Zhang; Junfeng Zheng; Pengrui Jin; Daliang Xu; Shushan Yuan; Rui Zhao; Stef Depuydt; Yujie Gao; Zhen-Liang Xu; Bart Van der Bruggen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129010

A PEI/TMC membrane modified with an ionic liquid with enhanced permeability and antibacterial properties for the removal of heavy metal ions

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Aug 5:435:129010. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129010. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Authors

Xin Zhang¹, Junfeng Zheng², Pengrui Jin³, Daliang Xu⁴, Shushan Yuan⁵, Rui Zhao², Stef Depuydt², Yujie Gao⁶, Zhen-Liang Xu⁷, Bart Van der Bruggen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Center, Chemical Engineering Research Center, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: pengrui.jin@kuleuven.be.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, 1550090, China.
⁵ School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁶ Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Membrane Science and Engineering R&D Center, Chemical Engineering Research Center, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China.
⁸ Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium; Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Electronic address: bart.vanderbruggen@kuleuven.be.

PMID: 35500345
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129010

Abstract

Heavy metal ions in drinking water severely threaten public health in various places worldwide. Nanofiltration (NF) membrane technology is an attractive option for heavy metal ions removal; however, improving NF membrane filtration performance is required to make their industrial application viable. In this study, a positively charged THPC/PEI-TMC NF membrane was designed via simple one-step incorporation of Tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC) biocide on the surface of PEI-TMC membranes, significantly optimizing surface morphology, roughness, hydrophilicity, and zeta potential of PEI-TMC membranes. It was found that the pure water permeability (11.6 Lm^-2h^-1bar^-1) of the THPC modified membrane was three times larger than that of the original PEI-TMC membrane (3.4 Lm^-2h^-1bar^-1) while maintaining a high level of ion rejections (around 95% for Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺ and about 90% for Pb²⁺). Additionally, the incorporation of the THPC on the original PEI-TMC membrane surface also conferred good antibacterial properties, which protect the organic membrane from bacterial growth and prolong the lifespan of the membrane.

Keywords: Anti-bacteria; Heavy metal ions; Ionic liquids; Kevlar support; Nanofiltration.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Ionic Liquids*
Ions
Membranes, Artificial
Metals, Heavy*
Permeability

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Ionic Liquids
Ions
Membranes, Artificial
Metals, Heavy