Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth
Membrane-assisted crystallization, aiming to induce supersaturation in a solution, has been successfully tested in the crystallization of ionic salts, low molecular organic acids, and proteins. Membrane crystallization is an emerging membrane process with the capability to simultaneously extract fre...
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MDPI AG
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/11/2145 |
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| author | Jheng-Han Tsai Maria Luisa Perrotta Annarosa Gugliuzza Francesca Macedonio Lidietta Giorno Enrico Drioli Kuo-Lun Tung Elena Tocci |
| author_facet | Jheng-Han Tsai Maria Luisa Perrotta Annarosa Gugliuzza Francesca Macedonio Lidietta Giorno Enrico Drioli Kuo-Lun Tung Elena Tocci |
| author_sort | Jheng-Han Tsai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Membrane-assisted crystallization, aiming to induce supersaturation in a solution, has been successfully tested in the crystallization of ionic salts, low molecular organic acids, and proteins. Membrane crystallization is an emerging membrane process with the capability to simultaneously extract fresh water and valuable components from various streams. Successful application of crystallization for produced water treatment, seawater desalination, and salt recovery has been demonstrated. Recently, membrane crystallization has been developed to recover valuable minerals from highly concentrated solutions, since the recovery of high-quality minerals is expected to impact agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and household activities. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the crystal nucleation and growth of sodium chloride in bulk and with hydrophobic polymer surfaces of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polypropylene (PP) at a supersaturated concentration of salt. In parallel, membrane crystallization experiments were performed utilizing the same polymeric membranes in order to compare the experimental results with the computational ones. Moreover, the comparison in terms of nucleation time between the crystallization of sodium chloride (NaCl) using the traditional evaporation process and the membrane-assisted crystallization process was performed. Here, with an integrated experimental⁻computational approach, we demonstrate that the PVDF and PP membranes assist the crystal growth for NaCl, speeding up crystal nucleation in comparison to the bulk solution and leading to smaller and regularly structured face-centered cubic lattice NaCl crystals. This results in a mutual validation between theoretical data and experimental findings and provides the stimuli to investigate other mono and bivalent crystals with a new class of materials in advanced membrane separations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:16:12Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:16:12Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-27f34c50a9c245f982927131556842ae2022-12-22T02:18:12ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172018-11-01811214510.3390/app8112145app8112145Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and GrowthJheng-Han Tsai0Maria Luisa Perrotta1Annarosa Gugliuzza2Francesca Macedonio3Lidietta Giorno4Enrico Drioli5Kuo-Lun Tung6Elena Tocci7Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, TaiwanInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, TaiwanInstitute on Membrane Technology (ITM–CNR), Via P. BUCCI, cubo 17C, 87036 Rende, ItalyMembrane-assisted crystallization, aiming to induce supersaturation in a solution, has been successfully tested in the crystallization of ionic salts, low molecular organic acids, and proteins. Membrane crystallization is an emerging membrane process with the capability to simultaneously extract fresh water and valuable components from various streams. Successful application of crystallization for produced water treatment, seawater desalination, and salt recovery has been demonstrated. Recently, membrane crystallization has been developed to recover valuable minerals from highly concentrated solutions, since the recovery of high-quality minerals is expected to impact agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and household activities. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the crystal nucleation and growth of sodium chloride in bulk and with hydrophobic polymer surfaces of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polypropylene (PP) at a supersaturated concentration of salt. In parallel, membrane crystallization experiments were performed utilizing the same polymeric membranes in order to compare the experimental results with the computational ones. Moreover, the comparison in terms of nucleation time between the crystallization of sodium chloride (NaCl) using the traditional evaporation process and the membrane-assisted crystallization process was performed. Here, with an integrated experimental⁻computational approach, we demonstrate that the PVDF and PP membranes assist the crystal growth for NaCl, speeding up crystal nucleation in comparison to the bulk solution and leading to smaller and regularly structured face-centered cubic lattice NaCl crystals. This results in a mutual validation between theoretical data and experimental findings and provides the stimuli to investigate other mono and bivalent crystals with a new class of materials in advanced membrane separations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/11/2145molecular simulationcomputational chemistrymembrane-assisted crystallizationcrystal growthnucleation |
| spellingShingle | Jheng-Han Tsai Maria Luisa Perrotta Annarosa Gugliuzza Francesca Macedonio Lidietta Giorno Enrico Drioli Kuo-Lun Tung Elena Tocci Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth Applied Sciences molecular simulation computational chemistry membrane-assisted crystallization crystal growth nucleation |
| title | Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth |
| title_full | Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth |
| title_fullStr | Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth |
| title_short | Membrane-Assisted Crystallization: A Molecular View of NaCl Nucleation and Growth |
| title_sort | membrane assisted crystallization a molecular view of nacl nucleation and growth |
| topic | molecular simulation computational chemistry membrane-assisted crystallization crystal growth nucleation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/8/11/2145 |
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