Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization Program on Fouling-Resistant Membranes for Water Purification

合作研究：用于水净化的防垢膜的聚合物合成/膜表征项目

• 批准号: 0554109
• 负责人: Benny Freeman
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-01 至 2009-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0554109&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Polymer; Synthesis; Membrane

Collaborative Research: A Polymer Synthesis/Membrane Characterization Program on Fouling Resistant Membranes for Water PurificationA collaborative experimental program in fundamental research and education is proposed to address critically important problems in the area of polymer membranes for water purification. Polymer membrane technology, such as ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) is becoming dominant in water purification technology, due largely to its energy efficiency relative to conventional technologies such as distillation. When commercially available UF, NF and RO membranes are exposed to mixtures of salt, emulsified oil droplets, and other particulate matter, their lifetime of effective use decreases catastrophically due to a largely irreversible reduction in permeate flux as a result of membrane fouling by the organic contaminants. The PI recently initiated preliminary experiments to evaluate the fouling performance (in Freeman group) of commercial PVDF UF membranes coated with amphiphilic graft copolymers prepared in Emrick group. These graft copolymers are composed of polyolefin backbones, which provide mechanical integrity needed in membrane applications, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafts, to provide the hydrophilicity needed to enable high water flux. The connectivity between the polyolefin backbone and PEG grafts is made with ether bonds, so as to provide long-term hydrolytic stability of the polymer in theseaqueous-based applications. Moreover, the graft copolymer design allows integration offunctionality into the polymer for cross-linking chemistry that will be used to give robustcoatings on a variety of membranes, and also to cross-link the polymer coating into theunderlying membrane support. Early evaluations of these PEGylated graft copolymers asfouling-resistant coatings on commercial membranes are promising and also present challenges to the PI that are deemed exceptionally worthy of PhD research and education. The research is proposed in a collaborative program to most effectively advance the science, as the engineering and synthetic chemistry aspects both play critically important roles and are best conducted in a collaborative fashion.The broader impact of advances in water purification membrane technology cannot be overstated, as the increase in global population and societal development, combined with the continuously shrinking fresh water supply, place water at the forefront of global concern. Innovative advances in membrane technology can be accelerated through collaborative research, and the PI established ties with membrane manufacturers, as well as industrial-based support mechanisms for academic research, will lead to rapid integration of discoveries towards development and commercialization. The education of the students involved in the research stands to gain tremendously from the collaborative aspect. Regular exchange of students between Amherst and Austin will facilitate this collaboration. Moreover, in accord with the prior activities of the PIs, research on water purification membranes will permeate into their mentoring of undergraduates and high school teachers through the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs.

合作研究：一个高分子合成/膜表征计划的抗污染膜的水净化在基础研究和教育的合作实验计划提出，以解决至关重要的问题，在该地区的聚合物膜的水净化。聚合物膜技术，如超滤（UF）、纳滤（NF）和反渗透（RO），在水净化技术中正变得占主导地位，这主要是由于其相对于常规技术如蒸馏的能量效率。当市售UF、NF和RO膜暴露于盐、乳化油滴和其他颗粒物质的混合物时，由于有机污染物造成的膜污染导致渗透通量的大部分不可逆降低，它们的有效使用寿命灾难性地降低。PI最近启动了初步实验，以评估涂覆有Emrick组制备的两亲性接枝共聚物的商业PVDF UF膜的污染性能（Freeman组）。这些接枝共聚物由聚烯烃主链和聚（乙二醇）（PEG）接枝物组成，聚烯烃主链提供膜应用中所需的机械完整性，聚（乙二醇）（PEG）接枝物提供实现高水通量所需的亲水性。聚烯烃主链和PEG接枝物之间的连接是通过醚键实现的，从而在基于水的应用中提供聚合物的长期水解稳定性。此外，接枝共聚物的设计允许将功能性整合到聚合物中，用于交联化学，其将用于在各种膜上提供坚固的涂层，并且还将聚合物涂层交联到下面的膜支撑物中。这些聚乙二醇化接枝共聚物作为商业膜上的防污涂层的早期评估是有希望的，也对PI提出了挑战，这些PI被认为特别值得进行博士研究和教育。该研究是在一个合作计划中提出的，以最有效地推进科学，因为工程和合成化学方面都发挥着至关重要的作用，最好以合作的方式进行。水净化膜技术进步的广泛影响不能被夸大，因为全球人口和社会发展的增加，加上淡水供应的不断减少，将水问题置于全球关注的首要位置。通过合作研究可以加速膜技术的创新进步，PI与膜制造商建立联系，以及基于工业的学术研究支持机制，将导致发现的快速整合，以实现开发和商业化。参与研究的学生的教育将从合作方面获得巨大的收益。阿默斯特和奥斯汀之间的学生定期交流将促进这种合作。此外，与PI先前的活动雅阁，净水膜研究将通过本科生研究经验（REU）和教师研究经验（RET）计划渗透到他们对本科生和高中教师的指导中。