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    Mitigation of membrane fouling by nano/microplastics via surface chemistry control

    Year: 2021

    Journal: J. Membr. Sci., Volume 633, SEP 1

    Authors: Enfrin, Marie; Wang, Jingshi; Merenda, Andrea; Dumee, Ludovic F.; Lee, Judy

    Organizations: Australian Research Council [DECRA DE180100130]; Khalifa University [RC22019007]

    Keywords: Nanoplastics; Microplastics; Membrane filtration; Surface fouling; Plasma polymerisation; XDLVO theory; Energy of adhesion

    Nano/microplastic materials fouling across filtration membranes can impact the performance of filtration systems, which constitutes a critical challenge for water facilities operation. In this study, plasma surface modifications aiming at reducing nano/microplastic materials adsorption on ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. Hydrophilic acrylic acid and cyclopropylamine plasma coatings caused a water flux decline of less than 8% after 6 h of crossflow filtration. Both hydrophilic coatings reduced the percentage of nano/microplastics adsorbed on the membranes by more than 60%. On the contrary, the hydrophobic hexamethyldisiloxane layer had no impact on the cumulative percentage of adsorbed nano/microplastics compared to that of the pristine poly(sulfone) membranes, which culminated at 40%, resulting in a water flux decline of 40% upon filtration for both membranes. The extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory was then applied to the system particle-membrane, which identified polar forces as the predominant intermolecular interactions contributing to membrane fouling. Tuning the hydrophilicity of the membranes was, therefore, a more efficient strategy to reduce nano/microplastic materials adsorption during filtration than tailoring the surface charge of the membranes, showing potential for complex water matrices remediation.
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