Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD
In recent decades, the fabrication of composite membranes using nanoparticles has played a vital role in membrane distillation (MD) technique. It could make available membranes with superior characteristics as excellent candidates for MD technique. The most well-known obstacles regarding the MD meth...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/20/3499 |
| _version_ | 1797513289240936448 |
|---|---|
| author | Ahmad Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Qahatani Mohammed Alquraish Colin Baily Salah El-Mofty Ahmed El-Shazly |
| author_facet | Ahmad Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Qahatani Mohammed Alquraish Colin Baily Salah El-Mofty Ahmed El-Shazly |
| author_sort | Ahmad Abdullah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, the fabrication of composite membranes using nanoparticles has played a vital role in membrane distillation (MD) technique. It could make available membranes with superior characteristics as excellent candidates for MD technique. The most well-known obstacles regarding the MD method are the low productivity and high cost. Thus, fabricating membranes with superior properties is a significant challenge. In the current study, a composite membrane has been fabricated using 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 weight percent (wt.%) of graphene nanoparticles (GNPs) with polystyrene (PS) as a base polymer and characterized using SEM, FTIR, and contact angle. The characterization results prove the successful fabrication using electrospinning and the validity of the fabricated membranes to be applied to direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). In addition, a DCMD experimental setup has been designed to examine the performance of the fabricated membranes and compare the performance of blank PS with composite PS/GNPs membranes. The results show that all fabricated membranes produced an approximately similar average flux of about 10 kg/m<sup>2</sup> h, while the highest GNPs wt.% showed the highest salt rejection. Accordingly, this composite membrane has been examined at different operating parameters and showed stable performance. Moreover, feed temperature and the rate of flow have a positive impact on the overall performance of the DCMD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b39cd90147d44618a0b005a381454fe2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-b39cd90147d44618a0b005a381454fe22023-11-22T19:46:44ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-10-011320349910.3390/polym13203499Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMDAhmad Abdullah0Abdulaziz Al-Qahatani1Mohammed Alquraish2Colin Baily3Salah El-Mofty4Ahmed El-Shazly5Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, Bisha 67614, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, Bisha 61922, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, Bisha 67614, Saudi ArabiaSchool of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UKDepartment of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, Bisha 67614, Saudi ArabiaChemical and Petrochemicals Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria 21934, EgyptIn recent decades, the fabrication of composite membranes using nanoparticles has played a vital role in membrane distillation (MD) technique. It could make available membranes with superior characteristics as excellent candidates for MD technique. The most well-known obstacles regarding the MD method are the low productivity and high cost. Thus, fabricating membranes with superior properties is a significant challenge. In the current study, a composite membrane has been fabricated using 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 weight percent (wt.%) of graphene nanoparticles (GNPs) with polystyrene (PS) as a base polymer and characterized using SEM, FTIR, and contact angle. The characterization results prove the successful fabrication using electrospinning and the validity of the fabricated membranes to be applied to direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). In addition, a DCMD experimental setup has been designed to examine the performance of the fabricated membranes and compare the performance of blank PS with composite PS/GNPs membranes. The results show that all fabricated membranes produced an approximately similar average flux of about 10 kg/m<sup>2</sup> h, while the highest GNPs wt.% showed the highest salt rejection. Accordingly, this composite membrane has been examined at different operating parameters and showed stable performance. Moreover, feed temperature and the rate of flow have a positive impact on the overall performance of the DCMD.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/20/3499membrane distillationftirgraphene nanoplatesmembrane fabricationelectrospinning |
| spellingShingle | Ahmad Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Qahatani Mohammed Alquraish Colin Baily Salah El-Mofty Ahmed El-Shazly Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD Polymers membrane distillation ftir graphene nanoplates membrane fabrication electrospinning |
| title | Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD |
| title_full | Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD |
| title_short | Experimental Investigation of Fabricated Graphene Nanoplates/Polystyrene Nanofibrous Membrane for DCMD |
| title_sort | experimental investigation of fabricated graphene nanoplates polystyrene nanofibrous membrane for dcmd |
| topic | membrane distillation ftir graphene nanoplates membrane fabrication electrospinning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/20/3499 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ahmadabdullah experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd AT abdulazizalqahatani experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd AT mohammedalquraish experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd AT colinbaily experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd AT salahelmofty experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd AT ahmedelshazly experimentalinvestigationoffabricatedgraphenenanoplatespolystyrenenanofibrousmembranefordcmd |