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Calcinable Polymer Membrane with Revivability for Efficient Oily‐Water Remediation
Author(s) -
Zhu Zhigao,
Wang Wei,
Qi Dianpeng,
Luo Yifei,
Liu Yuanren,
Xu Ying,
Cui Fuyi,
Wang Ce,
Chen Xiaodong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201801870
Subject(s) - membrane , materials science , polyacrylonitrile , fouling , emulsion , chemical engineering , membrane fouling , filtration (mathematics) , polymer , biofouling , groundwater remediation , environmental remediation , waste management , composite material , contamination , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics , engineering , biology
Fouling of polymeric membranes remains a major challenge for long‐term operation of oily‐water remediation. The common reclamation methods to recycle fouled membranes have the issues of either incomplete degradation of organic pollutants or damage to filter membranes. Here, a calcinable polymer membrane with effective reclamation after fouling is reported, which shows full recovery of the original oil/water separation efficiency. The membrane is made of polysulfonamide/polyacrylonitrile fibers by emulsion electrospinning, followed by hydrothermal decoration of TiO 2 nanoparticles. The bonding structured fibrous membrane displays outstanding thermal stability in air (400 °C), strong acid/alkali resistance (at the pH range from 1 to 13), and robust tensile strength. As a result, the chemically fouled polymeric membrane can be easily reclaimed without decreasing in separation performance and mechanical properties by annealing treatment. As a proof‐of‐concept, the as‐prepared membrane is integrated into a wastewater separation tank, which achieves a high water flux over 3000 L m −2 h −1 and oil rejection efficiency of 99.6% for various oil‐in‐water emulsions. The presented strategy on membrane fabrication is believed to be an effective remedy for membrane fouling, and should apply in a wider field of filtration industry.