Unprecedented scaling/fouling resistance of omniphobic polyvinylidene fluoride membrane with silica nanoparticle coated micropillars in direct contact membrane distillation

Xiao, Z., Guo, H., He, H., Liu, Y., Li, X., Zhang, Y., Yin, H. , Volkov, A. V. and He, T. (2020) Unprecedented scaling/fouling resistance of omniphobic polyvinylidene fluoride membrane with silica nanoparticle coated micropillars in direct contact membrane distillation. Journal of Membrane Science, 599, 117819. (doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.117819)

Abstract

Recent development of omniphobic membranes shows promise in scaling/fouling mitigation in membrane distillation (MD), however, the fundamental understanding is still under dispute. In this paper, we report a novel omniphobic micropillared membrane coated by silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) (SiNPs-MP-PVDF) with dual-scale roughness prepared by a micromolding phase separation (μPS) and electrostatic attraction. This membrane was used as a model for analysis of scaling behavior by calcium sulfate (CaSO4) scaling and fouling behavior by protein casein in comparison with commercial (C-PVDF) and micropillared (MP-PVDF) membranes. Unprecedented scaling/fouling resistance to CaSO4 and casein was observed in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) for SiNPs-MP-PVDF membrane. Similar scaling and fouling occurred for commercial PVDF and micropillared PVDF membranes. The observation corresponds well to the wetting state of all membranes as SiNPs-MP-PVDF shows suspended wetting, but MP-PVDF shows pinned wetting. From a hydrodynamic view, the suspended wetting attributes a slippery surface which reduces the direct contact of foulants to solid membrane part and leads to significantly reduced fouling and scaling. However, a pinned (or metastable) wetting state leads to a stagnant interfacial layer that is prone to severe fouling and scaling. This work highlights that both scaling and fouling resistance are indeed of suspended wetting state and slippage origin.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The research was partially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21978315, 21676290, 51861145313), Newton Advanced Fellowship (Grant No. NA170113). We also thank the frame work research consortium for partially financial support (RFBR No. 18-58-80031, DST IPN/7864 (India), NRT No.116020 (South Africa), CNPq/BRICS-STI-2-442229/2017-8 (Brazil)).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Yin, Professor Huabing

Creator Roles

Yin, H.: Supervision

• Authors: Xiao, Z., Guo, H., He, H., Liu, Y., Li, X., Zhang, Y., Yin, H., Volkov, A. V., and He, T.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Journal of Membrane Science
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0376-7388
• ISSN (Online): 1873-3123
• Published Online: 10 January 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier
• First Published: First published in Journal of Membrane Science 599:117819
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
300180		Nanotechnology for clean water: High throughput, In-situ analysis of biofouling in membrane separation processes	Huabing Yin	The Royal Society (ROYSOC)	NA170113	ENG - Biomedical Engineering