Enhanced vapor transport in membrane distillation via functionalized carbon nanotubes anchored into electrospun nanofibres

To ascertain membrane distillation (MD) as an emerging desalination technology to meet the global water challenge, development of membranes with ideal material properties is crucial. Functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were anchored to nanofibres of electrospun membranes. Covalent modification and fluorination of CNTs improved their dispersibility and interfacial interaction with the polymer membrane, resulting in well-aligned CNTs inside crystalline fibres with superhydrophobicity. Consideration for the chemical/physical properties of the CNT composite membranes and calculation of their theoretical fluxes revealed the mechanism of MD: CNTs facilitated the repulsive force for Knudsen and molecular diffusions, reduced the boundary-layer effect in viscous flow, and assisted surface diffusion, allowing for fast vapor transport with anti-wetting. This study shows that the role of CNTs and an optimal composite ratio can be used to reduce the gap between theoretical and experimental approaches to desalination.

[1]  A. Striolo The mechanism of water diffusion in narrow carbon nanotubes. , 2006, Nano letters.

[2]  T. Darmanin,et al.  Recent advances in the potential applications of bioinspired superhydrophobic materials , 2014 .

[3]  B. Vincent,et al.  Dispersion of nanoparticles: from organic solvents to polymer solutions. , 2014, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[4]  Robert C. Wolpert,et al.  A Review of the , 1985 .

[5]  K. Mahmoud,et al.  Functional graphene nanosheets: The next generation membranes for water desalination , 2015 .

[6]  Gurdev Singh,et al.  Preparation and characterization of novel triple layer hydrophilic–hydrophobic composite membrane for desalination using air gap membrane distillation , 2013 .

[7]  H. Shon,et al.  Superhydrophobic nanofiber membrane containing carbon nanotubes for high-performance direct contact membrane distillation , 2016 .

[8]  Liwei Lin,et al.  Piezoelectric properties of PVDF/MWCNT nanofiber using near-field electrospinning , 2013 .

[9]  Enrico Drioli,et al.  Membrane distillation: Recent developments and perspectives , 2015 .

[10]  D. Tasis,et al.  Current progress on the chemical modification of carbon nanotubes. , 2010, Chemical reviews.

[11]  Cheng Cheng,et al.  Electrospun Superhydrophobic Organic/Inorganic Composite Nanofibrous Membranes for Membrane Distillation. , 2015, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[12]  Jang‐Kyo Kim,et al.  Functionalization of carbon nanotubes using a silane coupling agent , 2006 .

[13]  Sangho Lee,et al.  Hydrophobic surface modification of membrane distillation (MD) membranes using water-repelling polymer based on urethane rubber , 2016 .

[14]  Jianmao Yang,et al.  Hierarchically structured polysulfone/titania fibrous membranes with enhanced air filtration performance. , 2014, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[15]  Heyou Han,et al.  Graphene oxide exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacterial phytopathogens and fungal conidia by intertwining and membrane perturbation. , 2014, Nanoscale.

[16]  Tao He,et al.  Electrospun nanofiber membranes incorporating fluorosilane-coated TiO2 nanocomposite for direct contact membrane distillation , 2016 .

[17]  M. Bodanszky Recent Developments and Perspectives , 1984 .

[18]  Jing Hu,et al.  Poplar leaves reclamation for porous granules and their application in nitrobenzene removal from aqueous solution , 2015 .

[19]  TorOve Leiknes,et al.  High flux and antifouling properties of negatively charged membrane for dyeing wastewater treatment by membrane distillation. , 2016, Water research.

[20]  Tai‐Shung Chung,et al.  Recent advances in membrane distillation processes: Membrane development, configuration design and application exploring , 2015 .

[21]  N. A. Siddiqui,et al.  DISPERSION AND FUNCTIONALIZATION OF CARBON NANOTUBES FOR POLYMER-BASED NANOCOMPOSITES: A REVIEW , 2010 .

[22]  TorOve Leiknes,et al.  PDMS/PVDF hybrid electrospun membrane with superhydrophobic property and drop impact dynamics for dyeing wastewater treatment using membrane distillation , 2017 .

[23]  Jerry Avorn Technology , 1929, Nature.

[24]  Jintao Zhu,et al.  Polymer Microparticles with Controllable Surface Textures Generated through Interfacial Instabilities of Emulsion Droplets , 2012 .

[25]  M. Boyce,et al.  Wrinkled surface topographies of electrospun polymer fibers , 2009 .

[26]  L. Ambrosio,et al.  Effect of surface fluorination of TiO2 particles on photocatalitytic activity of a hybrid multilayer coating obtained by sol-gel method. , 2012, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[27]  H. Shon,et al.  Fouling and its control in membrane distillation-A review , 2015 .

[28]  Rong Wang,et al.  Fabrication of bioinspired composite nanofiber membranes with robust superhydrophobicity for direct contact membrane distillation. , 2014, Environmental science & technology.

[29]  Noreddine Ghaffour,et al.  Performance modeling of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) seawater desalination process using a commercial composite membrane , 2015 .

[30]  Noreddine Ghaffour,et al.  Theoretical modeling and experimental validation of transport and separation properties of carbon nanotube electrospun membrane distillation , 2017 .

[31]  B. Ding,et al.  Engineering biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces of electrospun nanomaterials , 2011 .

[32]  H. Shon,et al.  Electrospun dual-layer nonwoven membrane for desalination by air gap membrane distillation , 2017 .

[33]  H. Shon,et al.  Advanced multi-nozzle electrospun functionalized titanium dioxide/polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (TiO2/PVDF-HFP) composite membranes for direct contact membrane distillation , 2017 .

[34]  M. Kotaki,et al.  A review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nanocomposites , 2003 .

[35]  Noreddine Ghaffour,et al.  Synthesis and fabrication of nanostructured hydrophobic polyazole membranes for low-energy water recovery , 2012 .

[36]  Carl D. Meinhart,et al.  Simulation of fluid slip at 3D hydrophobic microchannel walls by the lattice Boltzmann method , 2005 .

[37]  Noreddine Ghaffour,et al.  Renewable energy-driven desalination technologies: A comprehensive review on challenges and potential applications of integrated systems , 2015 .

[38]  Anthony G. Fane,et al.  Effect of pore size distribution and air flux on mass transport in direct contact membrane distillation , 2003 .

[39]  M. U. Farid,et al.  CNTs reinforced super-hydrophobic-oleophilic electrospun polystyrene oil sorbent for enhanced sorption capacity and reusability , 2017 .

[40]  Gurdev Singh,et al.  Preparation and characterization of highly hydrophobic poly(vinylidene fluoride) – Clay nanocomposite nanofiber membranes (PVDF–clay NNMs) for desalination using direct contact membrane distillation , 2012 .

[41]  Junghui Chen,et al.  Modeling and optimization of hollow fiber DCMD module for desalination , 2008 .

[42]  Ahmad Fauzi Ismail,et al.  Graphene-based nanomaterial: The state-of-the-art material for cutting edge desalination technology , 2015 .

[43]  Sagar Roy,et al.  Enhanced desalination via functionalized carbon nanotube immobilized membrane in direct contact membrane distillation , 2014 .

[44]  N. Koratkar,et al.  Carbon science in 2016: Status, challenges and perspectives , 2016 .

[45]  Ce Wang,et al.  Dual-biomimetic superhydrophobic electrospun polystyrene nanofibrous membranes for membrane distillation. , 2014, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[46]  Hiromichi Kataura,et al.  Gas adsorption in the inside and outside of single-walled carbon nanotubes , 2001 .