Background
Access to clean water resources has accelerated research in the direction of membrane-based separation processes, like reverse osmosis (RO), that are often perplexed by acute saline feeds and pervasive membrane fouling. The properties of the polymeric membranes deployed in these operations play a critical role in understanding their degradation behavior in aqueous feeds. Bulk modification with zwitterions to polymeric backbone has been identified as an effective strategy to resist membrane fouling and improved water permeance due to their impressive hydrophilicity and antifouling properties. There is a need for desalination membranes that can handle and treat harsh feeds for further purification.
Invention Description
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a new amphiphilic copolymer with controllable charge densities of sulfobetaine zwitterion for use in the fabrication of dense membranes for desalination by pervaporation. The membrane is made from poly(arylene ether sulfone-co-sulfobetaine arylene ether sulfone) (PAES-co-SBAES) copolymers. These membranes show exceptional salt rejection capabilities in initial tests for concentrated RO reject brine feeds. As compared to commercial membranes, this technology demonstrates excellent water permeance with concentrated saline feed without loss in permeance performance.
Potential Applications:
- Wastewater treatment
- Drinking water purification
- Industrial water treatment
Benefits and Advantages:
- Excellent salt rejection (≥99.9% for concentrated RO reject brine feed)
- Improved water permeance and permeability as compared to commercial membranes
- Easily scalable
- Tunable chemistry according to aqueous feed conditions
- High physical strength of membranes that can be used in various feed conditions without hampering performance
