Membrane processes are considered energy-efficient for water desalination and treatment. However most membranes are based on polymers prepared from fossil petrochemical sources. The development of multilayer membranes for nanofiltration and ultrafiltration, with thin selective layers of naturally available cellulose, has been hampered by the availability of non-aggressive solvents. We propose the manufacture of cellulose membranes based on two approaches: (i) silylation, coating from solutions in tetrahydrofuran, followed by solvent evaporation and cellulose regeneration by acid treatment; (ii) casting from solution in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolum acetate ([C2mim]OAc), an ionic liquid, followed by phase inversion in water.
In the search for less harsh, greener membrane manufacture, the combination of cellulose and ionic liquid is of high interest. Due to the abundance of OH groups and hydrophilicity, cellulose-based membranes have high permeability and low fouling tendency. Membrane fouling is one of the biggest challenges in membrane industry and technology. Accumulation and deposition of foulants onto the surface reduce membrane efficiency and requires harsh chemical cleaning, therefore increasing the cost of maintenance and replacement. In this work the resistance of cellulose
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membranes towards model organic foulants such as Suwanee River Humic Acid (SRHA) and crude oil have been investigated.
Cellulose membrane was tested in this work for oil-water (o/w) separation and exhibited practically 100 % oil rejection with good flux recovery ratio and membrane resistivity. The influence of anionic, cationic and ionic surfactant as well as pH and crude oil concentration on oil separation was investigated, giving a valuable insight in experimental and operational planning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:kaust.edu.sa/oai:repository.kaust.edu.sa:10754/615126 |
| Date | 09 June 2016 |
| Creators | Livazovic, Sara |
| Contributors | Nunes, Suzana Pereira, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division, Peinemann, Klaus-Viktor, Hong, Pei-Ying, Altkinkaya, Sacide Alsoy |
| Source Sets | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | 2017-06-30, At the time of archiving, the student author of this dissertation opted to temporarily restrict access to it. The full text of this dissertation became available to the public after the expiration of the embargo on 2017-06-30. |
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