Skip to main content

Recent Strategies in Designing Antifouling Desalination Membranes

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Corrosion and Fouling Control in Desalination Industry

Abstract

Membrane fouling results from the interaction between the membrane surface and foulants via adsorption, accumulation, or precipitation of organic and inorganic constituents. This bottleneck significantly impedes the efficient application of membrane technology by reducing productivity and permeates quality and leads to higher operating cost. In recent years, major advancements have been made in elucidating the antifouling mechanisms of membrane processes through numerous approaches. Those strategies involved the surface modification and development of novel desalination membranes. Various innovative membrane modifications have been developed to alter and customize the membrane structure and surface properties. The development of next-generation antifouling membrane is focused on tailoring the surface hydrophilicity, reducing surface roughness, introducing specially structured polymers through either grafting or coating as well as introducing new surface functionalities. This chapter overviews the current developments and the prospects of the novel strategies/preparation techniques in designing antifouling membranes for innovation toward water sustainability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. I.H. Aljundi, Desalination characteristics of TFN-RO membrane incorporated with ZIF-8 nanoparticles. Desalination 420, 12–20 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  2. M. Asadollahi, D. Bastani, S.A. Musavi, Enhancement of surface properties and performance of reverse osmosis membranes after surface modification: A review. Desalination 420, 330–383 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  3. S. Azari, L. Zou, Using zwitterionic amino acid l-DOPA to modify the surface of thin film composite polyamide reverse osmosis membranes to increase their fouling resistance. J. Membr. Sci. 401–402, 68–75 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  4. S. Berger, A. Synytska, L. Ionov, K.J. Eichhorn, M. Stamm, Stimuli-responsive bicomponent polymer janus particles by “grafting from”/"grafting to" approaches. Macromolecules 41, 9669–9676 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  5. F.H. Butt, F. Rahman, U. Baduruthamal, Characterization of foulants by autopsy of RO desalination membranes. Desalination 114, 51–64 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  6. H. Chang, T. Li, B. Liu, C. Chen, Q. He, J.C. Crittenden, Smart ultrafiltration membrane fouling control as desalination pretreatment of shale gas fracturing wastewater: The effects of backwash water. Environ. Intl. 130, 104869 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  7. S.C. Chen, G.L. Amy, T.S. Chung, Membrane fouling and anti-fouling strategies using RO retentate from a municipal water recycling plant as the feed for osmotic power generation. Water Res. 88, 144–155 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Y. Chun, D. Mulcahy, L. Zou, I.S. Kim, A short review of membrane fouling in forward osmosis processes. Membranes 7, 1–23 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  9. M. Chwatko, J.T. Arena, J.R. McCutcheon, Norepinephrine modified thin film composite membranes for forward osmosis. Desalination 423, 157–164 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  10. H. Dong, L. Wu, L. Zhang, H. Chen, C. Gao, Clay nanosheets as charged filler materials for high-performance and fouling-resistant thin film nanocomposite membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 494, 92–103 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  11. I.M.A. ElSherbiny, A.S.G. Khalil, M. Ulbricht, Surface micro-patterning as a promising platform towards novel polyamide thin-film composite membranes of superior performance. J. Membr. Sci. 529, 11–22 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  12. I.M.A. ElSherbiny, A.S.G. Khalil, M. Ulbricht, Tailoring surface characteristics of polyamide thin-film composite membranes toward pronounced switchable wettability. Adv. Mater. Interface 6, 1–12 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  13. D. Emadzadeh, M. Ghanbari, W.J. Lau, M. Rahbari-Sisakht, D. Rana, T. Matsuura, B. Kruczek, A.F. Ismail, Surface modification of thin film composite membrane by nanoporous titanate nanoparticles for improving combined organic and inorganic antifouling properties. Mater. Sci. Eng. C 75, 463–470 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  14. J. Feng, M. Graf, K. Liu, D. Ovchinnikov, D. Dumcenco, M. Heiranian, V. Nandigan, N.R. Aluru, A. Kis, A. Radenovic, Single-layer MoS2 nanopores as nanopower generators. Nature 536, 197–200 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  15. S. Feng, Y. Xing, S. Deng, W. Shang, D. Li, M. Zhang, Y. Hou, Y. Zheng, An integrative mesh with dual wettable on–off switch of water/oil. Adv. Mater. Interface 5, 1–6 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  16. W. Gao, H. Liang, J. Ma, M. Han, Z.l. Chen, Z.s. Han, G. Li, Membrane fouling control in ultrafiltration technology for drinking water production: A review. Desalination 272, 1–8 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  17. N. Ghaffour, T.M. Missimer, G.L. Amy, Technical review and evaluation of the economics of water desalination: Current and future challenges for better water supply sustainability. Desalination 309, 197–207 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  18. P.S. Goh, W.J. Lau, M.H.D. Othman, A.F. Ismail, Membrane fouling in desalination and its mitigation strategies. Desalination 425, 130–155 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  19. D. González, J. Amigo, F. Suárez, Membrane distillation: Perspectives for sustainable and improved desalination. Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 80, 238–259 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  20. H. Guo, Z. Yao, J. Wang, Z. Yang, X. Ma, C.Y. Tang, Polydopamine coating on a thin film composite forward osmosis membrane for enhanced mass transport and antifouling performance. J. Membr. Sci. 551, 234–242 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  21. H.M. Hegab, A. ElMekawy, T.G. Barclay, A. Michelmore, L. Zou, C.P. Saint, M. Ginic-Markovic, Fine-tuning the surface of forward osmosis membranes via grafting graphene oxide: Performance patterns and biofouling propensity. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7, 18004–18016 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  22. M. Hirose, H. Ito, Y. Kamiyama, Effect of skin layer surface structures on the flux behaviour of RO membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 121, 209–215 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  23. T. Hong Anh Ngo, K. Dinh Do, D. Thi Tran, Surface modification of polyamide TFC membranes via redox-initiated graft polymerization of acrylic acid. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 134, 1–8 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  24. T. Hong Anh Ngo, D.T. Tran, C. Hung Dinh, Surface photochemical graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto polyamide thin film composite membranes. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 134, 1–9 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  25. K.Y. Jee, D.H. Shin, Y.T. Lee, Surface modification of polyamide RO membrane for improved fouling resistance. Desalination 394, 131–137 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  26. S. Jin, N. Zhou, D. Xu, J. Shen, Synthesis and characterization of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) onto graphene oxide. Polym. Adv. Technol. 24, 685–691 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  27. M. Kobayashi, Y. Terayama, H. Yamaguchi, M. Terada, D. Murakami, K. Ishihara, A. Takahara, Wettability and antifouling behavior on the surfaces of superhydrophilic polymer brushes. Langmuir 28, 7212–7222 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  28. V. Kochkodan, N. Hilal, A comprehensive review on surface modified polymer membranes for biofouling mitigation. Desalination 356, 187–207 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  29. S.E. Kwan, E. Bar-Zeev, M. Elimelech, Biofouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis: Measurements and mechanisms. J. Membr. Sci. 493, 703–708 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  30. J. Landaburu-Aguirre, R. García-Pacheco, S. Molina, L. Rodríguez-Sáez, J. Rabadán, E. García-Calvo, Fouling prevention, preparing for re-use and membrane recycling. Towards circular economy in RO desalination. Desalination 393, 16–30 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  31. J. Lawler, Incorporation of graphene-related carbon nanosheets in membrane fabrication for water treatment: A review. Membranes 6, 57 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  32. E.K. Lee, V. Chen, A.G. Fane, Natural organic matter (NOM) fouling in low pressure membrane filtration - Effect of membranes and operation modes. Desalination 218, 257–270 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Q. Li, J. Imbrogno, G. Belfort, X.L. Wang, Making polymeric membranes antifouling via “grafting from” polymerization of zwitterions. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 132, 1–12 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Y. Li, S. Yang, K. Zhang, B. Van der Bruggen, Thin film nanocomposite reverse osmosis membrane modified by two dimensional laminar MoS2 with improved desalination performance and fouling-resistant characteristics. Desalination 454, 48–58 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  35. X. Liu, S.L. Ong, H.Y. Ng, Fabrication of mesh-embedded double-skinned substrate membrane and enhancement of its surface hydrophilicity to improve anti-fouling performance of resultant thin-film composite forward osmosis membrane. J. Membr. Sci. 511, 40–53 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  36. C. Liu, J. Lee, J. Ma, M. Elimelech, Antifouling thin-film composite membranes by controlled architecture of zwitterionic polymer brush layer. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51, 2161–2169 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  37. H. Mahdavi, A. Rahimi, Zwitterion functionalized graphene oxide/polyamide thin film nanocomposite membrane: Towards improved anti-fouling performance for reverse osmosis. Desalination 433, 94–107 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  38. K.A. Mahmoud, B. Mansoor, A. Mansour, M. Khraisheh, Functional graphene nanosheets: The next generation membranes for water desalination. Desalination 356, 208–225 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  39. B.S. Mbuli, E.N. Nxumalo, S.D. Mhlanga, R.W. Krause, V.L. Pillay, Y. Oren, C. Linder, B.B. Mamba, Development of antifouling polyamide thin-film composite membranes modified with amino-cyclodextrins and diethylamino-cyclodextrins for water treatment. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 131, 1–10 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  40. J. Meng, Z. Cao, L. Ni, Y. Zhang, X. Wang, X. Zhang, E. Liu, A novel salt-responsive TFC RO membrane having superior antifouling and easy-cleaning properties. J. Membr. Sci. 461, 123–129 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  41. S. Meng, W. Fan, X. Li, Y. Liu, D. Liang, X. Liu, Intermolecular interactions of polysaccharides in membrane fouling during microfiltration. Water Res. 143, 38–46 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  42. S.S. Mitra, A.R. Thomas, G.T. Gang, Evaluation and characterization of seawater RO membrane fouling. Desalination 247, 94–107 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  43. L.Y. Ng, A. Ahmad, A.W. Mohammad, Alteration of polyethersulphone membranes through UV-induced modification using various materials: A brief review. Arab. J. Chem. 10, S1821–S1834 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  44. D. Nikolaeva, C. Langner, A. Ghanem, M.A. Rehim, B. Voit, J. Meier-Haack, Hydrogel surface modification of reverse osmosis membranes. J. Membr. Sci. 476, 264–276 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  45. C.S. Ong, P.S. Goh, W.J. Lau, N. Misdan, A.F. Ismail, Nanomaterials for biofouling and scaling mitigation of thin film composite membrane: A review. Desalination 393, 2–15 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  46. J. Park, S. Lee, J. You, S. Park, Y. Ahn, W. Jung, K.H. Cho, Evaluation of fouling in nanofiltration for desalination using a resistance-in-series model and optical coherence tomography. Sci. Total Environ. 642, 349–355 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  47. M. Qasim, M. Badrelzaman, N.N. Darwish, N.A. Darwish, N. Hilal, Reverse osmosis desalination: A state-of-the-art review. Desalination 459, 59–104 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  48. S. Qin, D. Liu, G. Wang, D. Portehault, C.J. Garvey, Y. Gogotsi, W. Lei, Y. Chen, High and stable ionic conductivity in 2D nanofluidicion channels between boron nitride layers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 6314–6320 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  49. A. Rahimpour, UV photo-grafting of hydrophilic monomers onto the surface of nano-porous PES membranes for improving surface properties. Desalination 265, 93–101 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  50. D. Rana, T. Matsuura, Surface modifications for antifouling membranes. Chem. Rev. 110, 2448–2471 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  51. K. Rathinam, Y. Oren, W. Petry, D. Schwahn, R. Kasher, Calcium phosphate scaling during wastewater desalination on oligoamide surfaces mimicking reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Water Res. 128, 217–225 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  52. C.E. Ren, K.B. Hatzell, M. Alhabeb, Z. Ling, K.A. Mahmoud, Y. Gogotsi, Charge- and size-selective ion sieving through Ti3C2Tx MXene membranes. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 6, 4026–4031 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  53. H. Salehi, M. Rastgar, A. Shakeri, Anti-fouling and high water permeable forward osmosis membrane fabricated via layer by layer assembly of chitosan/graphene oxide. Appl. Surf. Sci. 413, 99–108 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  54. H.Z. Shafi, Z. Khan, R. Yang, K.K. Gleason, Surface modification of reverse osmosis membranes with zwitterionic coating for improved resistance to fouling. Desalination 362, 93–103 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  55. Y. Shim, H.J. Lee, S. Lee, S.H. Moon, J. Cho, Effects of natural organic matter and ionic species on membrane surface charge. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36, 3864–3871 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  56. J. Wang, Y. Wang, J. Zhu, Y. Zhang, J. Liu, B. Van der Bruggen, Construction of TiO2@graphene oxide incorporated antifouling nanofiltration membrane with elevated filtration performance. J. Membr. Sci. 533, 279–288 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  57. H. Wang, W. Wang, L. Wang, B. Zhao, Z. Zhang, X. Xia, H. Yang, Y. Xue, N. Chang, Enhancement of hydrophilicity and the resistance for irreversible fouling of polysulfone (PSF) membrane immobilized with graphene oxide (GO) through chloromethylated and quaternized reaction. Chem. Eng. J. 334, 2068–2078 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  58. J. Wu, Z. Wang, W. Yan, Y. Wang, J. Wang, S. Wang, Improving the hydrophilicity and fouling resistance of RO membranes by surface immobilization of PVP based on a metal-polyphenol precursor layer. J. Membr. Sci. 496, 58–69 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  59. J. Wu, Z. Wang, Y. Wang, W. Yan, J. Wang, S. Wang, Polyvinylamine-grafted polyamide reverse osmosis membrane with improved antifouling property. J. Membr. Sci. 495, 1–13 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  60. F. Xia, L. Feng, S. Wang, T. Sun, W. Song, W. Jiang, L. Jiang, Dual-responsive surfaces that switch between superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity. Adv. Mater. 18, 432–436 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  61. J. Xu, Z. Wang, L. Yu, J. Wang, S. Wang, A novel reverse osmosis membrane with regenerable anti-biofouling and chlorine resistant properties. J. Membr. Sci. 435, 80–91 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  62. R. Yang, J. Xu, G. Ozaydin-Ince, S.Y. Wong, K.K. Gleason, Surface-tethered zwitterionic ultrathin antifouling coatings on reverse osmosis membranes by initiated chemical vapor deposition. Chem. Mater. 23, 1263–1272 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  63. L. Yang, S.-T. Ma, H. Xia, Y. Bu, J.-J. Huang, S.-J. Gu, Grafting of poly (cysteine methacrylate) brush from polysulfone membrane via surface-initiated ATRP and their anti-protein fouling property. J. Fiber Bioeng. Inform. 10, 231–237 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  64. T. Yang, C.F. Wan, J.Y. Xiong, T.S. Chung, Pre-treatment of wastewater retentate to mitigate fouling on the pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process. Sep. Purif. Technol. 215, 390–397 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  65. Z. Yang, D. Saeki, H. Wu, T. Yoshioka, H. Matsuyama, Effect of polymer structure modified on RO membrane surfaces via surface-initiated ATRP on dynamic biofouling behavior. J. Membr. Sci. 582, 111–119 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  66. Y. Yoon, G. Amy, J. Cho, N. Her, J. Pellegrino, Transport of perchlorate (ClO4 ) through NF and UF membranes. Desalination 147, 11–17 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  67. S. Yu, Z. Lü, Z. Chen, X. Liu, M. Liu, C. Gao, Surface modification of thin-film composite polyamide reverse osmosis membranes by coating N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid copolymers for improved membrane properties. J. Membr. Sci. 371, 293–306 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  68. S.F. Zhang, P. Rolfe, G. Wright, W. Lian, A.J. Milling, S. Tanaka, K. Ishihara, Physical and biological properties of compound membranes incorporating a copolymer with a phosphorylcholine head group. Biomaterials 19, 691–700 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  69. Z. Zhang, Z. Wang, J. Wang, S. Wang, Enhancing chlorine resistances and anti-biofouling properties of commercial aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis membranes by grafting 3-allyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin and N,N’-Methylenebis(acrylamide). Desalination 309, 187–196 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  70. Y. Zhang, Z. Wang, W. Lin, H. Sun, L. Wu, S. Chen, A facile method for polyamide membrane modification by poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) to improve fouling resistance. J. Membr. Sci. 446, 164–170 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  71. R. Zhang, Y. Liu, M. He, Y. Su, X. Zhao, M. Elimelech, Z. Jiang, Antifouling membranes for sustainable water purification: Strategies and mechanisms. Chem. Soc. Rev. 45, 5888–5924 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  72. X. Zhu, M. Elimelech, Colloidal fouling of reverse osmosis membranes: Measurements and fouling mechanisms. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 3654–3662 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  73. L. Zou, I. Vidalis, D. Steele, A. Michelmore, S.P. Low, J.Q.J.C. Verberk, Surface hydrophilic modification of RO membranes by plasma polymerization for low organic fouling. J. Membr. Sci. 369, 420–428 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  74. A.W. Zularisam, A.F. Ismail, M.R. Salim, M. Sakinah, H. Ozaki, The effects of natural organic matter (NOM) fractions on fouling characteristics and flux recovery of ultrafiltration membranes. Desalination 212, 191–208 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmad Fauzi Ismail .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Amin, M.A.M., Goh, P.S., Ismail, A.F., Chee, D.N.A. (2020). Recent Strategies in Designing Antifouling Desalination Membranes. In: Saji, V.S., Meroufel, A.A., Sorour, A.A. (eds) Corrosion and Fouling Control in Desalination Industry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34284-5_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics