Organic membranes can achieve significantly higher permeability while maintaining ideal selection depending on homogeneous internal structures in the form of membrane proteins. In the new research, a team of scientists led by Penn State University and the University of Texas at Austin applied such a design strategy to the desalination polyamide membrane.
This 3D model of polymer desalination membrane shows water by avoiding ganse spots and slow flow of membrane; The red membrane above the membrane shows water under pressure and with a high concentration of salt; The gold, granular, sponge-like structure in the middle shows the simmering and low ga ense areas inside the salt-stop membrane; Silver channels show how water flows; And blue at the bottom shows water under low pressure and with low concentrations of salt. Image Credit: Ganapatisubramanian Research Group / Iowa State University / Gregory Foss, Texas Advanced Computing Center.
D En. Enrique Gomez, Dr. Manish Kumar and his colleagues, Iowa State University, Penn State University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, DuPont Water Solutions and Dow Chemical found that billions of spheres form the same membrane density as the nanoslay. Reverse-osmosis is a one-meter criterion to maximize the performance of the water-filtration membrane.
Using the transmission electron microscope measurements of four different polymer membranes used to separate water, they predicted water flow through 3D models of membranes, allowing a detailed comparative analysis of why some membranes perform better than others.
“Simulations were able to pull out a membrane that is more uniform – with no ‘hot spots’ – has the same flow and better performance. This secret component is less inconsistent, ”said Professor Baskar Ganapatisubramaniam, a researcher at Iowa State University.
“Take a look at the image we created with the help of Texas Advanced Computing Center,” added Biswajit Khara, a doctoral student at Iowa State University.
Professor Ganapatisubramaniam said, “We are showing how the concentration of water towards the membrane changes.
“This is beautiful. It has not been done before because such detailed 3D measurements were unavailable, and so it is not trivial to do such simulations. “
“These simulations present themselves as computational challenges, as the difference inside an unusual membrane can vary from six orders,” Khara said.
The key to a better desalination membrane is how to measure and control the density of the membrane produced on very small scales.
Manufacturing engineers and materials scientists needed to make the entire membrane density equal, thus promoting the flow of water without sacrificing salt removal.
Professor Ganapatisubramaniam said, “These simulations provided a lot of information to find the key to making the desalination membrane more effective.”
The team’s work appears in the journal Science.
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Tyler e. Epoch Et al. 2021. Nanoscale control of internal inhomogeneity increases water transport in the desalination membrane. Science 371 (6524): 72-75; doi: 10.1126 / science.ABB 8518
