Desalination across a graphene oxide membrane via direct contact membrane distillation

We demonstrate the immobilization of graphene oxide on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane surface for desalination via direct contact membrane distillation. The graphene oxide immobilized membrane significantly enhanced the overall permeate flux with complete salt rejection, and the flux reached as high as 97 kg/m2 h at 80 °C. We attribute this enhancement in flux to multiple factors including selective sorption, nanocapillary effect, reduced temperature polarization as well as the presence of polar functional groups in graphene oxide. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GOIM was successfully fabricated to enhance pure water flux in direct contact membrane distillation. The desalination performance of GOIM was consistently superior achieving a maximum flux of 97 kg/m2 h at 80 °C. The membrane was stable over 90 days of continuous operation and was unaffected by salt concentration as high as 34,000 ppm. The facile fabrication of GOIM may open the [2] M. Khayet, Solar desalination by membrane distillation: dispersion in energy consumption analysis and water production costs (a review), Desalination 308 (2013) 89–101. [3] V.G. Gude, Energy storage for desalination processes powered by renewable energy and waste heat sources, Appl. Energy 137 (2015) 877–898. [4] A. Kullab, A. Martin, Membrane distillation and applications for water purification in thermal cogeneration plants, Sep Purif Technol 76 (2011) 231–237. [5] Z.D. Hendren, J. Brant, M.R. Wiesner, Surface modification of nanostructured ceramic membranes for direct contact membrane distillation, J Membr Sci 331 (2009) 1–10. [6] M. Essalhi, M. Khayet, Self-sustained webs of polyvinylidene fluoride electrospun nano-fibers: effects of polymer concentration and desalination by direct contact membrane distillation, J Membr Sci 454 (2014) 133–143. [7] S. Meng, J. Mansouri, Y. Ye, V. Vhen, Effect of templating agents on the properties and membrane distillation performance of TiO2-coated PVDF membranes, J Membr Sci 450 (2014) 48–59. [8] L. Dumée, J.L. Campbell, K. Sears, J. Schütz, N. Finn, M. Duke, S. Gray, The impact of [9] M. Bhadra, S. Roy, S. Mitra, Nanodiamond immobilized membranes for enhanced [10] J. Kim, B.V. Bruggen, The use of nanoparticles in polymeric and ceramic membrane structures: review of manufacturing procedures and performance improvement for water treatment, Environ Pollut 158 (2010) 2335–2349. [11] W. Mi, Y.S. Lin, Y. Li, Vertically aligned carbon nanotube membranes on macroporous alumina supports, J Membr Sci 304 (2007) 1–7. [12] L. Dumée, K. Sears, J. Schütz, N. Finn, C. Huynh, S. Hawkins, M. Duke, S. Gray, Characterization and evaluation of carbon nanotube bucky-paper membranes for direct contact membrane distillation, J Membr Sci 351 (2010) 36–43. [13] M. Bhadra, S. Roy, S. Mitra, Enhanced desalination using carboxylated carbon nanotube immobilized membranes, Sep Purif Technol 120 (2013) 373–377. [14] S. Roy, M. Bhadra, S. Mitra, Enhanced desalination via functionalized carbon nanotube immobilized membrane in direct contact membrane distillation, Sep Purif Technol 136 (2014) 58–65. [15] E.M. Kotsalis, J.H. Walther, P. Koumoutsakos, Multiphase water flow inside carbon nanotubes, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 30 (2004) 995–1010. [17] S.-H. Kang, T.-H. Fang, Z.-H. Hong, Electrical and mechanical properties of graphene oxide on flexible substrate, J Phys Chem Solid 74 (2013) 1783–1793. [18] A. Nekahi, P.H. Marashi, D. Haghshenas, Transparent conductive thin film of ultra large reduced graphene oxide monolayers, Appl Surf Sci 295 (2014) 59–65. [19] K.A. Mahmoud, B. Mansoor, A. Mansour, M. Khraisheh, Functional graphene nanosheets: the next generation membranes for water desalination, Desalination 356 (2015) 208–225. [20] P.S. Goh, A.F. Ismail, Graphene-based nanomaterial: the state-of-the-art material for [21] D. Cohen-Tanugi, J.C. Grossman, Mechanical strength of nanoporous graphene as a desalination membrane, Nano Lett 14 (2014) 6171–6178. [22] D. Konatham, J. Yu, T.A. Ho, A. Striolo, Simulation insights for graphene-based water desalination membranes, Langmuir 29 (2013) 11884–11897. [23] S. Saxena, T.A. Tyson, E. Negusse, Investigation of the local structure of graphene oxide, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 1 (2010) 3433–3437. [24] J.W. Suk, R.D. Piner, J. An, R.S. Ruoff, Mechanical properties of monolayer graphene oxide, ACS Nano 4 (2010) 6557–6564. [25] K. Cao, Z. Jiang, J. Zhao, C. Zhao, C. Gao, F. Pan, B. Wang, X. Cao, J. Yang, Enhanced water permeation through sodium alginate membranes by incorporating graphene oxides, J Membr Sci 469 (2014) 272–283. [26] D. Cohen-Tanugi, J.C. Grossman, Water desalination across nanoporous graphene, Nano Lett 12 (2012) 3602–3608. [27] M. Hu, B. Mi, Enabling graphene oxide nanosheets as water separation membranes, Environ Sci Technol 47 (2013) 3715–3723. [28] H.-M. Chen, C.-J. Lin, K.-R. Jheng, A. Kosasih, J.-Y. Chang, Effect of graphene oxide on affinity-immobilization of purple membranes on solid supports, Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 116 (2014) 482–488. [29] M. Khayet, T. Matsuura, M.R. Qtaishat, J.I. Mengual, Porous hydrophobic/hydrophilic composite membranes preparation and application in DCMD desalination at higher [30] M. Qtaishat, M. Khayet, T. Matsuura, Guidelines for preparation of higher flux hydrophobic/hydrophilic composite membranes for membrane distillation, J Membr Sci 329 (2009) 193–200.