Electrospun chitosan nanofiber constructing superhigh-water-flux forward osmosis membrane

Wenchao Zeng; Meiqiong Yu; Junkang Lin; Liulian Huang; Jianguo Li; Shan Lin; Lihui Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.12.052

Electrospun chitosan nanofiber constructing superhigh-water-flux forward osmosis membrane

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Jan 31:226:833-839. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.12.052. Epub 2022 Dec 12.

Authors

Wenchao Zeng¹, Meiqiong Yu², Junkang Lin¹, Liulian Huang¹, Jianguo Li³, Shan Lin⁴, Lihui Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350108, China; National Forestry & Grassland Administration Key Laboratory for Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350108, China; National Forestry & Grassland Administration Key Laboratory for Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350002, China; School of Ocean Science and Biochemistry Engineering, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuqing 350300, China.
³ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350108, China; National Forestry & Grassland Administration Key Laboratory for Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: jianguolicn@fafu.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350108, China; National Forestry & Grassland Administration Key Laboratory for Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: ls99036@163.com.
⁵ College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350108, China; National Forestry & Grassland Administration Key Laboratory for Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: lihuichen@fafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36521706
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.12.052

Abstract

Forward osmosis (FO) technology exhibits great potential in seawater desalination and wastewater treatment due to its negligible energy consumption and high antifouling, however, the weak desalination capability, especially low water flux, remains challenging. Herein, a cost-effective and high-desalination-performance chitosan (CS)-based FO membrane is developed via coupling the electrospinning CS nanofibers and interfacial-polymerized polyamide (PA). The electrospun nanofibers construct the porous and hydrophilic CS layer with the large pore-diameter of ~274 nm and low thickness of ~10 μm, enabling the effective transport of water molecules, specifically, a superhigh water flux of 107.53 LMH at a low salt-water ratio of 0.24 g·L^-1. In addition, such superior desalination performance of the as-prepared FO membrane is universal for the various salt species and concentrations. Our CS nanofiber-based membrane with the high separation capability of water-salt, desirable antibacterial activity, as well as the low cost, offers a roadmap toward the sustainable membrane materials.

Keywords: Chitosan nanofiber; Forward osmosis; High-water flux.

MeSH terms

Chitosan*
Membranes, Artificial
Nanofibers*
Osmosis
Water
Water Purification*

Substances

Water
Chitosan
Membranes, Artificial