SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 227-235.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.03.049

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Zwitterionic monolayer grafted ceramic membrane with an antifouling performance for the efficient oil-water separation

Tianyu Zhang1, Qian Wang1, Wei Luan1, Xue Li1, Xianfu Chen1,2, Dong Ding1, Zhichao Shen1, Minghui Qiu1, Zhaoliang Cui1, Yiqun Fan1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, National Engineering Research Center for Special Separation Membranes, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China;
    2. Zhangjiagang Institute of Nanjing Tech University, Suzhou 215699, China
  • Received:2021-01-04 Revised:2021-03-29 Online:2022-03-30 Published:2022-02-28
  • Contact: Yiqun Fan,E-mail:yiqunfan@njtech.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21921006, 21706115), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0403702), the Project for Marine Science and Technology Innovation of Jiangsu Province (HY2018-10), and Jiangsu Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (201810291044Z).

Zwitterionic monolayer grafted ceramic membrane with an antifouling performance for the efficient oil-water separation

Tianyu Zhang1, Qian Wang1, Wei Luan1, Xue Li1, Xianfu Chen1,2, Dong Ding1, Zhichao Shen1, Minghui Qiu1, Zhaoliang Cui1, Yiqun Fan1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, National Engineering Research Center for Special Separation Membranes, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China;
    2. Zhangjiagang Institute of Nanjing Tech University, Suzhou 215699, China
  • 通讯作者: Yiqun Fan,E-mail:yiqunfan@njtech.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21921006, 21706115), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0403702), the Project for Marine Science and Technology Innovation of Jiangsu Province (HY2018-10), and Jiangsu Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (201810291044Z).

Abstract: Enormous demands on the separation of oil/water (O/W) emulsions in various industries, such as petrochemical, food and pharmaceutical industries, are looking for high performance and energy-efficient separation methods. Ceramic membranes have been used to deal with O/W emulsions, for its outstanding characteristics of easy-operation, high-flux, and long-term stability. However, membrane fouling is still a challenge in the industrial application of ceramic membranes. Herein, antifouling ceramic membranes were fabricated by grafting zwitterions on the membrane surface via an environment-friendly two-step grafting method, which improves the antifouling property and permeability. Successful grafting of such zwitterion on the ceramic surface was assessed by the combination of FTIR and XPS characterization. More importantly, the hydration can be formed by electrostatic interactions layer on the modified membrane, which was confirmed by TGA characterization. The antifouling performance of prepared zwitterionic ceramic membranes in the separation of O/W emulsions was systematically tested. The results suggested that zwitterion can significantly improve the flux of ceramic ultrafiltration membrane, and can also improve antifouling property dramatically by reducing the irreversible fouling in the separation of O/W emulsions. Therefore, zwitterionic ceramic membranes hold promising potentials as an antifouling, highly efficient and green method in the practical purification of the O/W emulsions.

Key words: Ceramic membrane, Zwitterionic, Anti-fouling, Hydration layer, Oil/water emulsion

摘要: Enormous demands on the separation of oil/water (O/W) emulsions in various industries, such as petrochemical, food and pharmaceutical industries, are looking for high performance and energy-efficient separation methods. Ceramic membranes have been used to deal with O/W emulsions, for its outstanding characteristics of easy-operation, high-flux, and long-term stability. However, membrane fouling is still a challenge in the industrial application of ceramic membranes. Herein, antifouling ceramic membranes were fabricated by grafting zwitterions on the membrane surface via an environment-friendly two-step grafting method, which improves the antifouling property and permeability. Successful grafting of such zwitterion on the ceramic surface was assessed by the combination of FTIR and XPS characterization. More importantly, the hydration can be formed by electrostatic interactions layer on the modified membrane, which was confirmed by TGA characterization. The antifouling performance of prepared zwitterionic ceramic membranes in the separation of O/W emulsions was systematically tested. The results suggested that zwitterion can significantly improve the flux of ceramic ultrafiltration membrane, and can also improve antifouling property dramatically by reducing the irreversible fouling in the separation of O/W emulsions. Therefore, zwitterionic ceramic membranes hold promising potentials as an antifouling, highly efficient and green method in the practical purification of the O/W emulsions.

关键词: Ceramic membrane, Zwitterionic, Anti-fouling, Hydration layer, Oil/water emulsion