The Recent Progress in Modification of Polymeric Membranes Using Organic Macromolecules for Water Treatment

Abstract

For decades, the water deficit has been a severe global issue. A reliable supply of water is needed to ensure sustainable economic development in population growth, industrialization and urbanization. To solve this major challenge, membrane-based water treatment technology has attracted a great deal of attention to produce clean drinking water from groundwater, seawater and brackish water. The emergence of nanotechnology in membrane science has opened new frontiers in the development of advanced polymeric membranes to enhance filtration performance. Nevertheless, some obstacles such as fouling and trade-off of membrane selectivity and permeability of water have hindered the development of traditional polymeric membranes for real applications. To overcome these issues, the modification of membranes has been pursued. The use of macromolecules for membrane modification has attracted wide interests in recent years owing to their interesting chemical and structural properties. Membranes modified with macromolecules have exhibited improved anti-fouling properties due to the alteration of their physiochemical properties in terms of the membrane morphology, porosity, surface charge, wettability, and durability. This review provides a comprehensive review of the progress made in the development of macromolecule modified polymeric membranes. The role of macromolecules in polymeric membranes and the advancement of these membrane materials for water solution are presented. The challenges and future directions for this subject are highlighted.

Efficient removal of water bacteria and viruses using electrospun nanofibers

“…Another solution to overcome mechanical improprieties is the application of electrospun nanofiber as functionalized TFC membranes which have received significant attention in water disinfection ( Nagandran et al, 2020 ). Moreover, the intended incorporation of electrospun nanofiber with functional molecules provides a great possibility for designing a membrane with specific activities, especially incorporation with biocides results in the fabrication of a membrane with significant antibacterial or antiviral activities.…”

Antifouling and Flux Enhancement of Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Grafting Poly (3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate) Brushes

“…The hydration of hydrophilic brushes has been documented to provide an unfavorable atmosphere for the fixation of bacterial cells [ 51 ]. The grafting of hydrophilic, sulfonated anionic polymer brushes ruptures the outer membrane of bacteria, resulting in the damage of bacterial enzymes [ 66 , 67 ]. Therefore, it can be concluded that upon the hydration of grafted sulfonate, the PSPMK brush applies stress on the outer membrane surface, destroying the membrane, resulting in enzyme damage and protein denaturation ultimately causing the death of microbes [ 68 ].…”

Asymmetric Membranes

“…Thus, in this context, the contributions by Sapalidis on polyvinyl alcohol membranes [2], Duolikun et al on asymmetric cellulose membranes [3], Pulyalina et al on polyimide-based membranes [4,5], and Boussemghoune et al on ceramic membranes [6] are in line with the investigation of "old membrane materials," whilst the two papers by Nagandran et al [7] and Goh et al [8] focus on the enhancement of polymeric membrane performance by their modification by macromolecules and nanofillers, respectively.…”