Thin continuous membrane coating with high surface energy for comprehensive antifouling seawater distillation

Yuandong Jia; Kecheng Guan; Zhaohuan Mai; Shang Fang; Zhan Li; Pengfei Zhang; Dong Zou; Xiaobin Jiang; Gaohong He; Hideto Matsuyama

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120439

Thin continuous membrane coating with high surface energy for comprehensive antifouling seawater distillation

Water Res. 2023 Oct 1:244:120439. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120439. Epub 2023 Aug 1.

Authors

Yuandong Jia¹, Kecheng Guan², Zhaohuan Mai³, Shang Fang⁴, Zhan Li⁵, Pengfei Zhang⁵, Dong Zou⁶, Xiaobin Jiang⁷, Gaohong He⁷, Hideto Matsuyama⁸

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, No.2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China.
² Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan. Electronic address: guan@people.kobe-u.ac.jp.
³ Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan. Electronic address: zhaohuan.mai@people.kobe-u.ac.jp.
⁴ Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
⁵ Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
⁶ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No.30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, No.2 Linggong Road, Dalian 116024, China.
⁸ Research Center for Membrane and Film Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan. Electronic address: matuyama@kobe-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 37579566
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120439

Abstract

Membrane distillation (MD) has prominent advantages such as treating high-salinity wastewater with a low-grade thermal energy, high salt rejection, and zero discharge. However, organic fouling and mineral scaling are two major challenges for hydrophobic MD membranes when used for practical applications. Commonly, improving organic fouling- and mineral scaling-resistance require oppositely enhanced wetting properties of membrane, thus is difficult to simultaneously realize dual resistance with one membrane. Here, we proposed to use underwater thermodynamically stable high-surface-energy coating to modify the hydrophobic membrane with Janus structures comprising different surface energy. The underlayered structure meets the hydrophobicity requirements of the MD membrane, while the coating layer realizes dual resistance to organic and inorganic foulants. Theoretical analysis and experimental proof reveal that the membrane with the high-surface-energy coating layer outperforms the pristine one with approximately 10 times of longevity. This strategy provides a new way for the use of high-surface-energy materials in versatilely fouling-resistant MD process.

Keywords: Fouling; Membrane distillation; Mineral scaling; Surface energy.

MeSH terms

Biofouling* / prevention & control
Distillation
Membranes, Artificial
Minerals
Seawater
Water Purification*

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Minerals