Fabrication of a thin film nanocomposite hollow fiber nanofiltration membrane for wastewater treatment

A thin film nanocomposite (TEN) hollow fiber membrane containing nanoporous SAPO-34 nanoparticles was prepared on the dual-layer (PES/PVDF) hollow fiber substrate. The nanoparticle exposed TEN membrane (TEN (DOX)) was fabricated via the co-solvent (dioxane) assisted interfacial polymerization process. The TEN(DOX) had a larger nanoporosity and a higher crosslinking degree, which simultaneously led to an increased pure water permeability but a decreased salt permeability than the TEN membrane. The larger nanoporosity of TEN (DOX) membrane was ascribed to the effective exposure of nanoparticles, proved by the less PA coverage and the stable dispersion of nanoparticles in organic solution. Contributed by the exposed nanoparticles, the TEN (DOX) showed superior hydrophilicity and lower streaming potential than the TEN membrane. Compared to the NE-90, the TEN(DOX) membrane simultaneously improved the water flux and the rejections against tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate, tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate molecules. In addition to the elevated pure water permeability of 20.1 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1), the newly developed TEN(DOX) hollow fiber nanotiltration membranes have high rejections to both the multivalent electrolytes and micropollutant molecules, showing the potential applications in industrial wastewater treatment and drinking water purification. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved