Research Progress of Water Treatment Technology Based on Nanofiber Membranes

Abstract

In the field of water purification, membrane separation technology plays a significant role. Electrospinning has emerged as a primary method to produce nanofiber membranes due to its straightforward, low cost, functional diversity, and process controllability. It is possible to flexibly control the structural characteristics of electrospun nanofiber membranes as well as carry out various membrane material combinations to make full use of their various properties, including high porosity, high selectivity, and microporous permeability to obtain high-performance water treatment membranes. These water separation membranes can satisfy the fast and efficient purification requirements in different water purification applications due to their high filtration efficiency. The current research on water treatment membranes is still focused on creating high-permeability membranes with outstanding selectivity, remarkable antifouling performance, superior physical and chemical performance, and long-term stability. This paper reviewed the preparation methods and properties of electrospun nanofiber membranes for water treatment in various fields, including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, and other special applications. Lastly, various antifouling technologies and research progress of water treatment membranes were discussed, and the future development direction of electrospun nanofiber membranes for water treatment was also presented.

Advances in Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites for Water and Wastewater Treatment: A Review

“…Nanofiber membranes are used in prefiltration, ultrafiltration, separating filtration devices, water handling, and filter cartridges due to their properties, such as strong permeability, bactericidal properties, and excellent porosity [38]. Nanocomposite membranes have properties like excellent water permeability, thermal and mechanical stability, high hydrophilicity, and high fouling resistance [39].…”

A Strategy of End Anchoring to Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Chains for the Thermo-Driven Controllable Oil–Water Separation

“…14 Membrane separation technology, due to its excellent separation performance, 15,16 low consumption, easy operation, and environment-friendly characteristics, has attracted more and more attention in recent years. 17,18 For example, Feng et al 19 reported an "oil-removing" approach by adjusting the surficial wettability of a stainless-steel mesh with more than 150°water contact angle (WCA) and 0°oil contact angle (OCA). With both relatively excellent superhydrophobic and superoleophilic performances, the mesh can be used effectively for the separation of oil and water.…”

Self-support thin film nanofibrous composites ultrafiltration membrane based on PET waste flake for oil/water separation

“…In addition, surface modification of nanofibrous sub-layers with a hydrophilic top layer in the TFNC membrane decreases the membrane fouling [11][12][13][14]. The TFNC membranes, with extra porous nanofibrous sub-layers and highly hydrophilic active layer, have been shown significant advantages in microfiltration (MF) [15][16][17], ultrafiltration (UF) [18], nanofiltration (NF) [19][20][21], and reverse osmosis (RO) [22].…”