PVDF membrane assisted by modified hydrophobic ZnO nanoparticle for membrane distillation

Abstract

In this study, the modified ZnO/poly vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were prepared to examine the membrane distillation performance. The modified ZnO nanoparticle was synthesized using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a coupling agent and lauric acid in order to increase the hydrophobicity of nanoparticle surface. The modified nanoparticles with 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% contents were intercalated within PVDF scaffold to prepare composite membranes through phase inversion method. The influence of modified nanoparticle content on the characteristics of membranes including hydrophobicity, morphology, porosity, liquid entry pressure of water, and direct contact membrane distillation performance was investigated. By adding modified ZnO nanoparticle into casting solution, porosity and roughness were increased and revealed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results of direct contact membrane distillation performance was indicated that the permeate flux of modified membranes had a significant increase in comparison with neat PVDF membrane. Also, the thermal property of these nanocomposite membranes was examined.

Effect of ZnO nanoparticles loading in double‐layer polyvinylidene fluoride membrane for desalination via direct contact membrane distillation

“…The nanocomposite membrane of the top layer was more rigid than the bottom layer as presented in Figure 2b,c. The NPs attached to the PVDF structure assist in reducing the pore size of the surface membranes and lead to an increase in hydrophobicity 1 . The morphology of the top and bottom layers was interconnected fibrous structures throughout the membrane, and this would improve the membrane hydrophobicity and strengthen the mechanical property of the membrane.…”

“…Then, the measurement was started by letting the N 2 gas flow and push the DI water to penetrate the membrane pores. The N 2 gas pressure was increased slowly and automatically stopped when the DI water penetrate the smallest pore 1 . Furthermore, for the pore size and pore distribution measurement, the 20‐mm diameter membranes were immersed in porefill (surface tension of 16.0 dyne/cm) at least 1 h before the measurement began.…”

“…Moreover, the membrane porosity was calculated via the gravimetric method 1 . The membranes were cut into surface area 1 m × 1 m before immersed in ethanol for 30 min.…”

“…Not only humans but also other living things desire a high quality of clean water for living a healthy life. The endless source of water is from the seawater, and it can be processed via water distillation, which is through the membrane distillation (MD) application 1 . Distillation process in membrane occurs when the volatile compounds in the hot feed solution evaporate and the water vapour diffused into the membrane pores and consequently condensed into liquid in the cold permeate stream and producing better permeate solutions 2 .…”

Poly(vinylidene difluoride) Membrane Assisted by Modified ZnO/ZIF Nanoparticles for Membrane Distillation

“…The effect of different nanoparticles with various degrees of surface hydrophobicity on the hydrophobicity of the prepared membranes was evaluated. According to literature , , the incorporation of particles in the bulk of a membrane changes the surface morphologies of the detected membrane and also results in large amounts of protrusions, hills, and valleys, providing microscale and nanoscale roughness that could possibly increase the hydrophobicity of the surface.…”