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Optimization of the Surface Properties of the Reverse Osmosis Membrane for Desalination of Seawater

Jahangiri, Foad | 2013

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 44753 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Farhadi, Fatola; Musavi, Abbas
  7. Abstract:
  8. Surface modification of thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide reverse osmosis membrane was carried out using CO2-laser irradiation and Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma to improve performance and antifouling properties of the prepared RO membranes. Firstly, TFC polyamide RO membranes were synthesized via interfacial polymerization of trimesoyl chloride (TMC) and m-phenylenediamine (MPD) monomers over porous polysulfone ultrafiltration support. Next, CO2-laser irradiation with 10,000-40,000 pulses and DBD plasma with 15, 30, 60 and 90 seconds duration were used for the surface modification. The surface properties were characterized by ATR-FTIR, SEM, AFM, and contact angle measurements. The ATR-FTIR results indicated that CO2-laser irradiation did not induce any functional groups on the membrane surface, but DBD plasma caused hydrogen bonding on the surface of TFC membrane. The contact angle measurements showed that the hydrophilicity of the TFC membranes is increased due to DBD plasma modification, although the CO2-laser irradiation did not change the hydrophilicity of the TFC membranes. It was found that the laser irradiation enhanced the NaCl salt rejection and reduced slightly the permeate flux. Moreover, either laser or plasma modified membranes presented an excellent maintenance of flux compared to the untreated membranes. The filtration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) revealed that the antifouling properties of the modified membranes have been improved. The changes in the membrane surface morphology indicated that the surface roughness of the membrane is decreased significantly due to laser irradiation, although DBD plasma increased the surface roughness of the membranes
  9. Keywords:
  10. Reverse Osmosis ; Surface Functionality ; Fouling ; Laser Radiation ; Plasm Irradiation

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