Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianlong Ni, Jiuyang Lin, Lingxue Kong, Shuaifei Zhao
Summary: Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising technology for desalination and water purification, with recent advancements in omniphobic membranes to combat wetting and fouling issues. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the fundamentals, properties, advantages, applications, and engineering methods of omniphobic membranes. Future research on omniphobic membranes will focus on addressing challenges for stable and efficient MD operations.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Tijjani El-badawy, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, M. N. A. M. Norddin, Takeshi Matsuura, M. R. Adam, A. F. Ismail, Z. S. Tai, H. S. Zakria, Arian Edalat, Juhana Jaafar, M. A. Rahman, Jamilu Usman, Samuel Ojo, Mohd Malah
Summary: This study reports a pioneering PET braid-reinforced hollow fiber membrane (HFM) for membrane distillation (MD) of complex wastewater. By improving the surface structure and material, the HFM demonstrated good distillation flux and fouling resistance. The effects of feed type, flow rate, and temperature on membrane performance were also investigated.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xiangjun Liao, Shuren Chou, Chuanyu Gu, Xiaocheng Zhang, Minghao Shi, Xiaofei You, Yuan Liao, Abdul Ghani Razaqpur
Summary: Membrane scaling is a common issue in continuous membrane distillation. The use of omniphobic corrugated membranes can effectively alleviate membrane scaling. Different modes of operation and membrane designs have different effects on scale formation. Parallel flow and corrugation patterns contribute to better scaling resistance.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Xuewei Du, Mohammad Alipanahrostami, Wei Wang, Tiezheng Tong
Summary: Membranes with exceptional wetting resistance can be designed using short-chain fluorocarbons and hierarchically structured membranes. These membranes exhibit wetting resistance comparable to or even better than membranes based on long-chain PFASs. Furthermore, membranes fabricated with ultra-short chain fluorocarbons display improved wetting resistance against feedwaters with low surface tension.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Najib Meftah Almukhtar Omar, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Zhong Sheng Tai, Ahmed Omar Aswaye Amhamed, Erna Yuliwati, Mohd Hafiz Puteh, Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, Mukhlis A. Rahman, Juhana Jaafar, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail
Summary: This study successfully modified the surface of hydrophilic mullite-stainless steel hollow fibre membranes to omniphobic properties. The prepared membranes exhibited superior characteristics compared to other reported membranes, including higher roughness, liquid entry pressure, and enhanced liquid repellence and contact angles towards different liquids.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Saber Abdulhamid Alftessi, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Mohd Ridhwan Adam, Twibi Mohamed Farag, Azeman Mustafa, Takeshi Matsuura, Juhana Jaafar, Mukhlis A. Rahman, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail
Summary: Omniphobic silica sand ceramic hollow fiber membranes were successfully fabricated to reduce wetting and fouling in direct contact membrane distillation. Surface modification with SiNPs, fluorination, and PVDF-HFP coating led to high contact angles for all tested liquids and excellent anti-fouling resistance during DCMD operation. These membranes showed high fluxes, salt rejection, and potential for seawater desalination.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Li Liu, Zechun Xiao, Yongjie Liu, Xuemei Li, Huabing Yin, Alexey Volkov, Tao He
Summary: Membrane distillation technology has great potential in desalinating water streams, but fouling and scaling remain major challenges. Recent research has proposed a new understanding based on hydrodynamics, providing explanations and analysis frameworks for the fouling resistance of superhydrophobic and omniphobic membranes, offering new insights for addressing the challenges in membrane distillation technology.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Baek-Gyu Im, Lijo Francis, Ravichandran Santosh, Woo-Seung Kim, Noreddine Ghaffour, Young-Deuk Kim
Summary: This study employed commercially available polypropylene hollow fiber membranes for air gap and water gap membrane distillation processes. The performance of the polypropylene membranes was compared with that of in-house fabricated microporous polyvinylidene fluoride membranes. The results demonstrated that the polypropylene hollow fiber membranes exhibited good performance in AGMD and WGMD processes, achieving high permeation flux under specific operating conditions.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Nurul Syazana Fuzil, Nur Hidayati Othman, Nur Hashimah Alias, Fauziah Marpani, Muhammad Shafiq Mat Shayuti, Munawar Zaman Shahruddin, Mohd Rizuan Mohd Razlan, Norazah Abd Rahman, Woei Jye Lau, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Tutuk Djoko Kusworo, Anwar Ul-Hamid
Summary: In this study, the performance of membrane distillation (MD) was improved by coating MoS2-TiO2 on a PVDF-based hollow fiber membrane. The MoS2-TiO2/PP20 membrane showed enhanced hydrophobicity and porosity, leading to significantly improved MD performances. This work suggests that the MoS2-TiO2 coating can overcome the typical permeability/rejection rate trade-off effect and play a significant role in enhancing MD performances.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Wenying Shi, Tengfei Li, Yin Tian, Hongbin Li, Mengjie Fan, Haixia Zhang, Xiaohong Qin
Summary: The hollow fiber VMDC coupling process can simultaneously separate and recover freshwater and salt in dyeing wastewater, while achieving high concentration of dyes.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Sha Yu, Guodong Kang, Zhihao Zhu, Meiqing Zhou, Haijun Yu, Yiming Cao
Summary: Nafion-PTFE hollow fiber composite membranes show excellent anti-fouling and anti-wetting performance in vacuum membrane distillation, exhibiting stable flux and high salt rejection. The composite membrane improves anti-fouling properties and alleviates wetting phenomena caused by surfactants, with a pressure depression factor decreasing with increasing feed temperature.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
F. Russo, S. Santoro, F. Galiano, C. Ursino, E. Avruscio, E. Di Nicolo, G. Desiderio, G. Lombardo, A. Criscuoli, A. Figoli
Summary: A new non-invasive method utilizing a temperature-sensitive phosphorescent molecular probe and an infrared camera was proposed to evaluate the thermal polarization in hollow fiber membranes during the DCMD process. The temperature profile on the membrane surface was monitored in real time, providing insights into the thermal polarization phenomenon and strategies for its mitigation and counteraction.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Dong Zou, Hyun Woo Kim, Seong Min Jeon, Young Moo Lee
Summary: This study investigates the fabrication of PVDF/PSF hollow-fiber membranes with high mechanical strength and satisfactory water permeance using a green technique. The results show that hydrophobic coating fluid leads to higher water permeance, and hydrophobic modification improves the performance for separation of saline water.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Zhiguang Pang, Chunguang Hou, Songchen Xie, Ngie Hing Wong, Jaka Sunarso, Yuelian Peng
Summary: In this study, a new vacuum membrane distillation module was developed and the relationship between mass transfer driving force and permeate flux was analyzed. Optimal length, packing fraction, and suction mode for energy saving were proposed.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hui Feng, Huijuan Li, Meng Li, Xuan Zhang
Summary: This study comprehensively analyzed the effects of physical properties of SiO2 nanoparticles (SiNPs) on membrane performance and compared the differences between electrospray method and conventional solution deposition. It was found that by altering the size and morphology of the nanoparticles, the flux and fouling resistance of the membrane could be improved. Electrospray method could produce defect-free membrane surface layer for sustainable applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ji Wu, Can Zeng Liang, Ali Naderi, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: This study introduces a novel nanocomposite membrane design using soluble organic macrocyclic cavitands, which addresses the issue of discrete nanofiller phases in molecular-sieving membranes and achieves excellent molecular-seiving performance. These membranes exhibit outstanding high-temperature mixed-gas H-2/CO2 separation capabilities, making them highly promising for various energy-intensive molecular separations.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ji Wu, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: By utilizing 4-sulfocalix[4]arene (SCA4) molecules, this unconventional nanocomposite membrane design can effectively separate CO2 from H2, demonstrating significantly enhanced H2/CO2 separation efficiency, mechanical properties, and long-term stability under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. These membranes also possess a single-phase composite structure that surpasses conventional phase-segregated mixed-matrix membranes in processability, providing a versatile toolbox for designing advanced molecular-sieving membranes with optimal performance, robust properties, and scalability.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Renjing Huang, Jian Chang, Hyuck Choi, John M. Vohs, Raymond J. Gorte
Summary: This study investigated the aldol condensation reactions between furfural and various ketones and evaluated the activity of different catalysts. It was found that the CaO/MgAl2O4 catalyst exhibited the highest activity, but it deactivated within a few hours. Furthermore, the selectivity of aldol products was also influenced by the reaction rates.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Weikun Paul Li, Aung Thet Paing, Chin Ann Chow, Marn Soon Qua, Karikalan Mottaiyan, Kangjia Lu, Adil Dhalla, Tai-Shung Chung, Chakravarthy Gudipati
Summary: The novel tri-bore polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes were successfully scaled-up for industrial production and optimized for large-scale processes. After assembly into different length modules, the membranes showed high permeate flux and salt rejection rates in membrane distillation applications.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marn Soon Qua, Yan Zhao, Junyou Zhang, Sebastian Hernandez, Aung Thet Paing, Karikalan Mottaiyan, Jian Zuo, Adil Dhalla, Tai-Shung Chung, Chakravarthy Gudipati
Summary: Hollow fiber membranes made from PVDF polymer with a unique structure have been developed, which exhibit good mechanical strength and water vapor transportation. Through technology translation, the manufacturing scale of the membranes has been successfully increased, making them suitable for high-efficiency desalination and industrial wastewater applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Siwon Lee, Matteo Monai, Kai Shen, Jian Chang, John M. Vohs, Raymond J. Gorte
Summary: The structure and catalytic properties of Pt and Ni supported on thin films of LaFeO3 and CaTiO3 were investigated using ALD method. The results showed that Pt/LaFeO3 formed Pt-Fe intermetallic compound while Pt/CaTiO3 experienced local decomposition of CaTiO3. The catalytic activity of Pt and Ni supported on these thin films were influenced by the metal-perovskite interactions.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jian Chang, Zhuoming Feng, John M. Vohs, Raymond J. Gorte
Summary: The water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction was studied on Cu catalysts supported on modified MgAl2O4 (MAO) support using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) method. The study found that Cu/MAO catalysts prepared by ALD exhibited higher activity, while Cu catalysts with ZnO, CeO2, and Mn2O3 films showed minimal differences in activity compared to Cu/MAO catalyst. Cu catalysts prepared on CoO films showed slightly lower activity.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jian Chang, Raymond J. Gorte, John M. Vohs
Summary: The preparation of vanadium-phosphate catalysts by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for selective oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride (MA) was studied. ALD modification of bulk V2O5 with trimethylphosphate improved the selectivity to MA but was less effective than bulk vanadium phosphate (VPO). Silica-supported VPO prepared by ALD showed more uniform coverage on silica compared to impregnation, but the bulk VPO catalyst remained the most selective for MA. Reasons for lower performance of supported catalysts are discussed and suggestions for improvement are made.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bofan Li, Sheng Wang, Xian Jun Loh, Zibiao Li, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: In the state-of-the-art membrane industry, sustainable and closed-loop recyclable membranes have been innovated using covalent adaptable networks (CANs) with thermally reversible Diels-Alder (DA) adducts. These membranes exhibit excellent mechanical properties, thermal and chemical stabilities, and separation performance comparable to or even higher than nonrecyclable membranes. The used membranes can be depolymerized to remove contaminants and refabricated into new membranes, filling in the gaps in closed-loop recycling and promoting the advancement of sustainable membranes for a green membrane industry.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ji Wu, Jie Gao, Shing-Bor Chen, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: Tuning the permeation properties of TFN membranes through molecular redesign is important for RO desalination performance above the trade-off limit. Activation by organic solvents can boost water permeability but has rejection loss constraints. This study innovatively integrated soluble organic macrocyclic cavitands in the activating solvent to form cavity-bearing nanocomposite structures, which improved water permeability and salt/boron rejection.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Liang Ying Ee, Qipeng Zhao, Jie Gao, Chit Kai Lim, Kai Xue, Sze Yuet Chin, Sam Fong Yau Li, Tai-Shung Chung, Shing Bor Chen
Summary: In this study, facile intercalation and functionalization of β-cyclodextrin onto layered double hydroxides have resulted in the formation of accessible hydroxyl functional groups and anions that exhibit strong sorption and host-guest interaction with boron. The modified LDH was employed to fabricate a polyamide-based thin-film nanocomposite membrane with high salt rejection and water permeance for brackish water, achieving a high boron rejection rate as well. This pioneering study provides valuable insights into the design of brackish water reverse osmosis membranes using macrocyclic molecules and inorganic layered nanomaterials.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qianqian Zeng, Die Ling Zhao, Liguo Shen, Hongjun Lin, Ning Kong, Lei Han, Cheng Chen, Jiaheng Teng, Chuyang Tang, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: This study inserted titanium oxide nanotubes into the interlayer space of 2D MXene-based membranes to prepare PMT membranes with excellent performance. The PMT membrane has outstanding hydrophilicity, high retention rates, and ultra-high permeability. It also exhibits excellent antifouling and self-cleaning properties. The incorporation of TiONT increased the interaction energy between the membrane and pollutants, thereby improving its antifouling performance. This novel 2D membrane shows great promise for large-scale continuous separations of oil/water emulsions.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Fan Feng, Ji Wu, Can Zeng Liang, Martin Weber, Sui Zhang, Tai-Shung Chung
Summary: In this work, scalable polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) and polybenzimidazole (PBI) polymers were blended to create an enhanced polymer matrix that utilized the permeability and mechanical flexibility of PPSU and the selectivity and thermal stability of PBI. Calix[6]arene (CA6) was incorporated into the blend matrix to further enhance the H2/CO2 selectivity. The nanocomposite blend membrane achieved a significantly higher H2/CO2 selectivity with minimal permeability loss, surpassing the Robeson upper bound. This work presents exciting possibilities for designing molecularly mixed composite membranes (MMCMs) with better scalability compared to conventional mixed-matrix designs.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kai Shen, Jian Chang, Rajeev Kumar Rai, Ching-Yu Wang, Eric A. Stach, Raymond J. Gorte, John M. Vohs
Summary: The thermodynamic and structural properties of 1 nm thick films of CeVO4 and LaVO4 supported on & gamma;-Al2O3 were compared to the corresponding bulk rare-earth vanadates. The thin films exhibited different crystalline structures and equilibrium oxygen pressures compared to the bulk materials. Thin-film LaVO4 showed reversible transitions between perovskite and monazite structures, while thin-film CeVO4 showed reversible transitions between perovskite and fluorite structures. The reasons for these differences were discussed.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Baiwang Zhao, Jun Wen Wong, Can Zeng Liang, Ji Wu, Tai-Shung Chung, Sui Zhang
Summary: Researchers developed an inner-selective polyethersulfone-polydimethylsiloxane (PES-PDMS) thin-film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membrane for CO2/N2 separation. The membrane exhibited high CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity, making it a promising candidate for post-combustion CO2 capture.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
