Enhanced Antifouling Feed Spacer Made from a Carbon Nanotube-Polypropylene Nanocomposite.
ACS Omega
; 4(13): 15496-15503, 2019 Sep 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31572850
ABSTRACT
Spacers are widely used in membrane technologies to reduce fouling and concentration polarization. Fouling can start from the spacer surface and grow, thereby reducing flux, selectivity, and operation lifetime. Fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled bovine serum albumin was used for fouling studies and observed during cross-flow filtration operation for up to 144 h. Here, we mixed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polypropylene (PP) to make a spacer with better antifouling than plain PP spacers. The fouling process was observed by scanning electron microscopy and monitored in situ by fluorescence microscopy. Molecular dynamics simulations show that bovine serum albumin has a lower interaction energy with the nanocomposite CNTs/PP spacer than with the plain PP. The findings are relevant for the development of spacers to improve the operation lifetime of membranes in filtration technologies.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
ACS Omega
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article