Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes
The pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is a novel technology which generates green electrical energy via semi-permeable membranes. However, a major challenge in the PRO system is the lack of suitable membranes with satisfactory power density (i.e., the power output per unit membrane area). In t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2016
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80386 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40500 |
| _version_ | 1811688781316620288 |
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| author | Tian, Miao Wang, Rong Goh, Kunli Liao, Yuan Fane, Anthony G. |
| author2 | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Tian, Miao Wang, Rong Goh, Kunli Liao, Yuan Fane, Anthony G. |
| author_sort | Tian, Miao |
| collection | NTU |
| description | The pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is a novel technology which generates green electrical energy via semi-permeable membranes. However, a major challenge in the PRO system is the lack of suitable membranes with satisfactory power density (i.e., the power output per unit membrane area). In this study, we have successfully fabricated a novel thin-film composite (TFC) PRO membrane consisting of a tiered structure of polyetherimide (PEI) nanofibrous support reinforced by functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) and an ultrathin polyamide-based selective top skin layer. The tiered support was made by a fine and a coarse PEI nanofiber layers. The thin finer fiber reinforced with well dispersed f-CNTs has been found to increase mechanical stability of the polyamide selective layer, allowing the support to withstand high hydraulic pressure in the PRO system. Our optimized membrane can endure a trans-membrane pressure up to 24 bar and generate a peak power density as high as 17.3 W/m2 at 16.9 bar using synthetic seawater brine (1.0 M NaCl) as the draw solution against deionized (DI) water. In addition, the long term PRO result shows that this membrane can generate a stable power density of 15.0±0.5 W/m2 for a test period of 10 h. This demonstrates that our membrane holds great potential to be used in the PRO process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:37:40Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/80386 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:37:40Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/803862020-03-07T11:43:30Z Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes Tian, Miao Wang, Rong Goh, Kunli Liao, Yuan Fane, Anthony G. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Multi-walled carbon nanotubes Pressure retarded osmosis Thin film nanocomposites polyamide membrane Interfacial polymerization Electrospinning The pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is a novel technology which generates green electrical energy via semi-permeable membranes. However, a major challenge in the PRO system is the lack of suitable membranes with satisfactory power density (i.e., the power output per unit membrane area). In this study, we have successfully fabricated a novel thin-film composite (TFC) PRO membrane consisting of a tiered structure of polyetherimide (PEI) nanofibrous support reinforced by functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) and an ultrathin polyamide-based selective top skin layer. The tiered support was made by a fine and a coarse PEI nanofiber layers. The thin finer fiber reinforced with well dispersed f-CNTs has been found to increase mechanical stability of the polyamide selective layer, allowing the support to withstand high hydraulic pressure in the PRO system. Our optimized membrane can endure a trans-membrane pressure up to 24 bar and generate a peak power density as high as 17.3 W/m2 at 16.9 bar using synthetic seawater brine (1.0 M NaCl) as the draw solution against deionized (DI) water. In addition, the long term PRO result shows that this membrane can generate a stable power density of 15.0±0.5 W/m2 for a test period of 10 h. This demonstrates that our membrane holds great potential to be used in the PRO process. NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore) 2016-05-09T05:54:09Z 2019-12-06T13:48:22Z 2016-05-09T05:54:09Z 2019-12-06T13:48:22Z 2015 2015 Journal Article Tian, M., Wang, R., Goh, K., Liao, Y., & Fane, A. G. (2015). Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes. Journal of Membrane Science, 486, 151-160. 0376-7388 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80386 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40500 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.03.054 192072 en Journal of Membrane Science © 2015 Elsevier. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Journal of Membrane Science, Elsevier. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2015.03.054]. |
| spellingShingle | Multi-walled carbon nanotubes Pressure retarded osmosis Thin film nanocomposites polyamide membrane Interfacial polymerization Electrospinning Tian, Miao Wang, Rong Goh, Kunli Liao, Yuan Fane, Anthony G. Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title | Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title_full | Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title_fullStr | Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title_short | Synthesis and characterization of high-performance novel thin film nanocomposite PRO membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| title_sort | synthesis and characterization of high performance novel thin film nanocomposite pro membranes with tiered nanofiber support reinforced by functionalized carbon nanotubes |
| topic | Multi-walled carbon nanotubes Pressure retarded osmosis Thin film nanocomposites polyamide membrane Interfacial polymerization Electrospinning |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80386 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40500 |
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