Gas-switchable and reusable cellulose nanocrystal membrane for active nanofiltration and ultrafiltration

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In this project, we aim to develop a gas-responsive material for self-cleanable filtration membranes. The membranes in the market get fouled in a short time and need to be cleaned by often harsh and toxic chemicals that are expensive and harmful to the environment and the equipment. In our research, we develop a technology using gas-switchable membranes whose contaminations on surface and inside the pores can be cleaned by gases injected into the solution. The used gases (CO2 and N2) are cheap, plenty available and clean. Our proposed project includes three parts: 1) small-scale tests (the filtration tests of the industrial partners' samples, chemical and polymeric reactions, and membrane manufacturing); 2) semi-scale up (reactions' scale-up and sheet membrane manufacturing in a large scale), and 3) scale-up with a membrane manufacturer. The high performance in clean cleaning of the membranes by gases makes them a promising product to compete with the conventional membranes in the market. This new technology will not only ease the performance of wastewater treatment but also reduce the high cost of equipment's maintenance and washing chemicals. Finally, the membranes are produced by cellulose nanocrystals extracted from woods which is a clean and biocompatible compound.