Anti-fouling graphene-based membranes for effective water desalination

Dong Han Seo (), Shafique Pineda, Yun Chul Woo, Ming Xie, Adrian T. Murdock, Elisa Y. M. Ang, Yalong Jiao, Myoung Jun Park, Sung Il Lim, Malcolm Lawn, Fabricio Frizera Borghi, Zhao Jun Han, Stephen Gray, Graeme Millar, Aijun Du, Ho Kyong Shon, Teng Yong Ng and Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov ()
Additional contact information
Dong Han Seo: CSIRO Manufacturing
Shafique Pineda: CSIRO Manufacturing
Yun Chul Woo: University of Technology Sydney
Ming Xie: Victoria University
Adrian T. Murdock: CSIRO Manufacturing
Elisa Y. M. Ang: Nanyang Technological University
Yalong Jiao: Queensland University of Technology
Myoung Jun Park: University of Technology Sydney
Sung Il Lim: University of Technology Sydney
Malcolm Lawn: National Measurement Institute, Nanometrology
Fabricio Frizera Borghi: CSIRO Manufacturing
Zhao Jun Han: CSIRO Manufacturing
Stephen Gray: Victoria University
Graeme Millar: Queensland University of Technology
Aijun Du: Queensland University of Technology
Ho Kyong Shon: University of Technology Sydney
Teng Yong Ng: Nanyang Technological University
Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov: CSIRO Manufacturing

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The inability of membranes to handle a wide spectrum of pollutants is an important unsolved problem for water treatment. Here we demonstrate water desalination via a membrane distillation process using a graphene membrane where water permeation is enabled by nanochannels of multilayer, mismatched, partially overlapping graphene grains. Graphene films derived from renewable oil exhibit significantly superior retention of water vapour flux and salt rejection rates, and a superior antifouling capability under a mixture of saline water containing contaminants such as oils and surfactants, compared to commercial distillation membranes. Moreover, real-world applicability of our membrane is demonstrated by processing sea water from Sydney Harbour over 72 h with macroscale membrane size of 4 cm2, processing ~0.5 L per day. Numerical simulations show that the channels between the mismatched grains serve as an effective water permeation route. Our research will pave the way for large-scale graphene-based antifouling membranes for diverse water treatment applications.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02871-3

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