Tailoring properties and performance of thin-film composite membranes by salt additives for water treatment: A critical review

Airan Hu; Yanling Liu; Junfeng Zheng; Xiaomao Wang; Shengji Xia; Bart Van der Bruggen

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.119821

Tailoring properties and performance of thin-film composite membranes by salt additives for water treatment: A critical review

Water Res. 2023 May 1:234:119821. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119821. Epub 2023 Feb 28.

Authors

Airan Hu¹, Yanling Liu², Junfeng Zheng³, Xiaomao Wang⁴, Shengji Xia⁵, Bart Van der Bruggen³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Advanced Membrane Technology Center, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Advanced Membrane Technology Center, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, China. Electronic address: liuyanling@tongji.edu.cn.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium.
⁴ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Advanced Membrane Technology Center, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, China. Electronic address: xiashengji@tongji.edu.cn.

PMID: 36889093
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119821

Abstract

During the fabrication of thin film composite (TFC) membranes by interfacial polymerization (IP), the utilization of salt additives is one of the effective methods to regulate membrane properties and performance. Despite gradually receiving widespread attention for membrane preparation, the strategies, effects and underlying mechanisms of using salt additives have not yet been systematically summarized. This review for the first time provides an overview of various salt additives used to tailor properties and performance of TFC membranes for water treatment. By classifying salt additives into organic and inorganic salts, the roles of added salt additives in the IP process and the induced changes in membrane structure and properties are discussed in detail, and the different mechanisms of salt additives affecting membrane formation are summarized. Based on these mechanisms, the salt-based regulation strategies have shown great potential for improving the performance and application competitiveness of TFC membranes, including overcoming the trade-off relationship between water permeability and salt selectivity, tailoring membrane pore size distribution for precise solute-solute separation, and enhancing membrane antifouling performance. Finally, future research directions are suggested to focus on the long-term stability assessment of salt-modified membranes, the combined use of different salt additives, and the integration of salt regulation with other membrane design or modification strategies.

Keywords: Interfacial polymerization; Salt additive; Thin film composite membrane; Water treatment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Membranes, Artificial*
Nylons* / chemistry
Permeability
Polymerization
Sodium Chloride

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Nylons
Sodium Chloride