%D 2022
%V 542
%T Micro-patterned cellulose triacetate membranes for forward osmosis: Synthesis, performance and anti-fouling behavior
%O cited By 4
%R 10.1016/j.desal.2022.116076
%A A. Ilyas
%A Y. Hartanto
%A L.C. Lee
%A I.F.J. Vankelecom
%L scholars16188
%I Elsevier B.V.
%X Most cellulose triacetate (CTA)-based studies for forward osmosis (FO) have greatly focused on achieving asymmetric membranes with a highly porous sublayer along with a dense selective layer. Such membranes can achieve better fluxes due to improved mass transfer and reduced internal concentration polarization. In this work, patterning of the CTA-membranes via modification of the conventional non-solvent induced phase inversion is explored as an alternative route to increase FO water flux without reducing salt selectivity. The modified way of applying the non-solvent in this method increased the membrane bulk porosity from ~17  to ~50 . Such high porosity and reduced tortuosity of the patterned membrane can reduce the internal concentration polarization by back-transport and reduced accumulation of salt and other solutes in the porous support. During FO, the patterned CTA membrane showed a water flux of 30 L m�2 h�1 and reverse salt flux of 25 g m�2 h�1, thanks to the increased effective membrane area, low water transport resistance, and high porosity of the membrane support. The patterned CTA-membranes may have potential in FO for applications with larger draw solutes due to the slightly larger pores on the membrane surface following the non-solvent spraying. Alternatively, some phase inversion parameters can still be further tuned to lower the salt passage. © 2022
%J Desalination
%K Cellulose; Micromachining; Polarization; Porosity, Anti-foulings; Cellulose triacetate; Concentration polarization; Forward osmosis; High porosity; Micro patterning; Micropatterned; Non-solvents; Phase inversion; Water flux, Solvents, antifouling; cellulose; concentration (composition); desalination; membrane; osmosis, Cellulose Triacetate; Membranes; Polarization; Porosity; Solutes; Solvents