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Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination

Author

Listed:
  • Dong Han Seo

    (CSIRO Manufacturing)

  • Shafique Pineda

    (CSIRO Manufacturing
    University of Sydney)

  • Yun Chul Woo

    (University of Technology Sydney)

  • Ming Xie

    (Victoria University)

  • Adrian T. Murdock

    (CSIRO Manufacturing)

  • Elisa Y. M. Ang

    (Nanyang Technological University)

  • Yalong Jiao

    (Queensland University of Technology)

  • Myoung Jun Park

    (University of Technology Sydney)

  • Sung Il Lim

    (University of Technology Sydney)

  • Malcolm Lawn

    (National Measurement Institute, Nanometrology)

  • Fabricio Frizera Borghi

    (CSIRO Manufacturing
    University of Sydney)

  • Zhao Jun Han

    (CSIRO Manufacturing)

  • Stephen Gray

    (Victoria University)

  • Graeme Millar

    (Queensland University of Technology)

  • Aijun Du

    (Queensland University of Technology)

  • Ho Kyong Shon

    (University of Technology Sydney)

  • Teng Yong Ng

    (Nanyang Technological University)

  • Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov

    (CSIRO Manufacturing
    University of Sydney
    Queensland University of Technology)

Abstract

The inability of membranes to handle a wide spectrum of pollutants is an important unsolved problem for water treatment. Here we demonstrate water desalination via a membrane distillation process using a graphene membrane where water permeation is enabled by nanochannels of multilayer, mismatched, partially overlapping graphene grains. Graphene films derived from renewable oil exhibit significantly superior retention of water vapour flux and salt rejection rates, and a superior antifouling capability under a mixture of saline water containing contaminants such as oils and surfactants, compared to commercial distillation membranes. Moreover, real-world applicability of our membrane is demonstrated by processing sea water from Sydney Harbour over 72 h with macroscale membrane size of 4 cm2, processing ~0.5 L per day. Numerical simulations show that the channels between the mismatched grains serve as an effective water permeation route. Our research will pave the way for large-scale graphene-based antifouling membranes for diverse water treatment applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Dong Han Seo & Shafique Pineda & Yun Chul Woo & Ming Xie & Adrian T. Murdock & Elisa Y. M. Ang & Yalong Jiao & Myoung Jun Park & Sung Il Lim & Malcolm Lawn & Fabricio Frizera Borghi & Zhao Jun Han & S, 2018. "Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-02871-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02871-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Kuichang Zuo & Xiang Zhang & Xiaochuan Huang & Eliezer F. Oliveira & Hua Guo & Tianshu Zhai & Weipeng Wang & Pedro J. J. Alvarez & Menachem Elimelech & Pulickel M. Ajayan & Jun Lou & Qilin Li, 2022. "Ultrahigh resistance of hexagonal boron nitride to mineral scale formation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Youmin Hou & Prexa Shah & Vassilios Constantoudis & Evangelos Gogolides & Michael Kappl & Hans-Jürgen Butt, 2023. "A super liquid-repellent hierarchical porous membrane for enhanced membrane distillation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.

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