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Fabrication of carbon nanotubes-modified poly(ethyleneimine)/sodium lignosulfonate membranes for improved selectivity performance and antifouling capability in forward osmosis process

  • Polymers & biopolymers
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Abstract

Current thin film nanocomposite membranes incorporated with microporous particles are demanding for improving membrane performance. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-modified poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)/sodium lignosulfonate (SL) membranes were prepared through layer-by-layer assembly by dispersing CNTs into PEI and/or SL solutions, in order to investigate the effects of CNTs on membrane structure and forward osmosis performance. The characterization results indicated that the CNTs can be well-incorporated in the PEI/SL membranes, which contribute to a slightly lower hydrophilicity of membrane surface and different membrane morphology. The forward osmosis performance of the PEI/SL and CNTs-modified PEI/SL membranes were investigated for application in separating NaCl from water. Compare with the PEI/SL membrane, PEI/(SL–CNTs) membrane prepared by dispersing CNTs into the SL solution exhibited the best water flux and membrane selectivity. The increase in the CNTs content of the PEI/(SL–CNTs) membrane can enhance the water flux, but cannot significantly impact on the reverse salt flux, resulting in the improvement in membrane selectivity. The PEI/(SL–CNTs) membrane containing 0.075 g L−1 CNTs in SL showed a 66.3% higher water flux of 7.32 LMH, also exhibited better antifouling and foulant-release properties. This study offers a new method to design novel FO membranes for desalination and water purification.

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Acknowledgements

This work was the supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.2021ZY19), Open Research Fund Program of Key Laboratory of Cleaner Production and Integrated Resource Utilization of China National Light Industry (No. CP-2020-YB7), National Natural. Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21736001, 21776153, 21978024), and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (2202034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Geng, Saisai Li & Luying Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Cleaner Production and Integrated Resource Utilization of China National Light Industry, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, People’s Republic of China

    Xia Zhan

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jiding Li

  4. MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Jiandu Lei

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  1. Xin Geng
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Correspondence to Luying Wang.

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Geng, X., Li, S., Zhan, X. et al. Fabrication of carbon nanotubes-modified poly(ethyleneimine)/sodium lignosulfonate membranes for improved selectivity performance and antifouling capability in forward osmosis process. J Mater Sci 56, 15499–15511 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06261-x

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