Synthesis of Responsive Membranes for Water Recovery through Desalination of Saline Industrial Effluents

Elizabeth Vazquez, Claudia Muro (), Sergio Pérez-Sicairos, Yolanda Alvarado, Vianney Díaz-Blancas and Karina Hernández
Additional contact information
Elizabeth Vazquez: Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Avenida Tecnológico S/N Col, Metepec C.P. 52140, Mexico
Claudia Muro: Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Avenida Tecnológico S/N Col, Metepec C.P. 52140, Mexico
Sergio Pérez-Sicairos: Departamento de Nanotecnología, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, Calzada Del Tecnológico S/N, Fraccionamiento Tomas Aquino, Tijuana C.P. 22414, Mexico
Yolanda Alvarado: Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Avenida Tecnológico S/N Col, Metepec C.P. 52140, Mexico
Vianney Díaz-Blancas: Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Avenida Tecnológico S/N Col, Metepec C.P. 52140, Mexico
Karina Hernández: Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Avenida Tecnológico S/N Col, Metepec C.P. 52140, Mexico

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-20

Abstract: Polysulfone (PSF) and smart polymers (SRPs)—including polyacrylic acid (AAc), poly N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA), and sulfonated poly(1,4-phenylene ether-ether-sulfone) (SPEES)—were used in the synthesis of responsive membranes (PSF-SRP) for application in sustainable desalination processes involving food industry effluents for water recovery and recycling. With the inclusion of SRPs, PSF-SRP membranes showed different characteristics when compared to the PSF membrane. AAc caused fibers to occur in the surface structure, increasing the MWCO of the PSF membrane, whereas NIPA and SPEES diminished the MWCO, resulting in ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes. Furthermore, NIPA and SPEES provided high mechanical and thermal resistance when incorporated into the PSF membrane. The performance of the membranes also showed important changes. In comparison with only PSF, PSF-SPEES and PSF-NIPA increased the water flux and salt rejection percentage by 20–30%. In addition, the highest membrane fouling resistance was observed with PSF-NIPA, while PSF-AAc and PSF-NIPA-AAc presented the lowest resistances. Therefore, PSF-NIPA and PSF-SPEES resulted in membrane improvement, including stimuli-responsive properties, allowing for effective saline effluent treatment.

Keywords: responsive membranes; desalination; water recovery; water recycling; industrial effluents; membrane fouling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5796/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5796/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5796-:d:1430774

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().