Synthesize of forward osmosis membrane with Zinc Oxide interlayer for enhanced water desalination

Forward osmosis (FO) has attracted enormous research interests as a prospective low-energy membrane-separation technology in many potential applications such as desalination and wastewater treatment. The novel thin film nanocomposite (TFN) FO membranes have demonstrated great improvement in separation performance and antifouling capacities. Furthermore, the utilization of thin film composite (TFC) FO membranes has brought to light substantial enhancements in the separation process. Zinc oxide (ZnO) serves as an interlayer, effectively regulating the interfacial polymerization (IP) process to achieve the formation of a dense polyamide (PA) selective activelayer. In this study, we embarked on the production of TFC FO membranes, incorporating a ZnO interlayer sandwiched between the sublayer PES and the PA layer. The design of nano sheets interlayer between the substrate and polyamide layer has attracted growing attention to improve the performance of thin-film composite membranes. Remarkably, the enhancement of hydrophilicity was obtained through contact angle analysis. To ensure the precision of ZnO nanoparticle synthesis and gain information about the membrane's surface and cross sectional characteristics, as well as the mechanism underlying the formation of the PA layer, we used the FESEM analysis. The TFC/ZnO membrane possessed a higher water flux of ۲۴۱۱۴۶ L m-۲ h-۱ accompanied with a salt rejection rate of ۹۹۱.۹۹. These impressive results were achieved when employing a feed solution of ۴۴ mM NaCl and a draw solution of ۲ M NaCl. This work provides a new strategy to fabricate the TFC membranes on sublayers for FO processes. These membranes promise to offer exceptional perm selectivity, effective control over concentration polarization (CP) phenomena, and the anticipated enhancements in the separation process.

کلیدواژه ها:

Forward osmosis ، Interlayer membrane ، Desalination ، Zinc Oxide ، Polyamide membrane