Evaluation of a novel polyamide-polyethylenimine nanofiltration membrane for wastewater treatment: Removal of Cu2+ ions
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Wang, Jinqiang
Yu, Wenzheng
Graham, Nigel JD
Jiang, Lei
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This paper describes a novel approach for enhancing membrane technology for the removal of heavy metal cations in contaminated waters. A simple method of forming a positively charged polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membrane has been developed by attaching a layer of hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI) to the PA surface, involving the linking of PEI amino groups to the PA surface carboxyl groups. The nature of the PEI modified PA membrane, in terms of surface morphology, zeta potential and hydrophobicity was found to depend on the PEI molecular weight (MW), and the PEI concentration and membrane exposure time during preparation. In turn, the nature of the modified membrane determined its performance in terms of hydraulic flux and metal ion rejection. In tests using a model solution of 5 mg/L Cu2+ and a 70,000 MW PEI membrane the Cu rejection was >90%, with only a modest reduction in flux compared to blank water. The Cu2+ rejection was found to be a combination of electrostatic repulsion and adsorption, with the relative proportions depending on the nature of the PEI modified PA membrane. In addition, the Cu2+ rejection and membrane flux were found to be sustainable over repeated filtration cycles, and the rejection was not adversely affected by the presence of humic acid in solution (5 mg/L).
Date Issued
2020-07-15
Date Acceptance
2019-12-08
Citation
Chemical Engineering Journal, 2020, 392, pp.1-14
ISSN
1385-8947
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Start Page
1
End Page
14
Journal / Book Title
Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume
392
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894719331845?via%3Dihub
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Environmental
Engineering, Chemical
Engineering
Wastewater treatment
Polyethylenimine (PEI)
Polyamide (PA)
Nanofiltration membrane
Cu2+ ion
HOLLOW-FIBER MEMBRANES
HEAVY-METAL IONS
LIQUID-LIQUID-EXTRACTION
NANOFIBER MEMBRANES
EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGN
CHELATING MEMBRANE
OSMOSIS MEMBRANES
EFFICIENT REMOVAL
HIGH-FLUX
OXIDE
Chemical Engineering
0904 Chemical Engineering
0905 Civil Engineering
0907 Environmental Engineering
Publication Status
Published online
Article Number
123769
Date Publish Online
2019-12-10