Nanostructure-manipulated filtration performance in nanocomposite membranes: A comprehensive investigation for water and wastewater treatment

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to examine one of the most important challenges facing researchers in the field of nanocomposite membranes: what is the most suitable arrangement (unmodified, functionalized, coated, or composite) and the most suitable loading site for the nanostructure? In the review articles published on nanocomposite membranes in recent years, the focus has been either on a specific application area (such as nanofiltration or desalination), or on a specific type of polymeric materials (such as polyamide), or on a specific feature of the membrane (such as antibacterial, antimicrobial, or antifouling). However, none of them have targeted the aforementioned objectives on the efficacy of improving filtration performance (IFP). Through IFP calculation, the results will be repeatable and generalizable in this field. The novelty of the current research lies in examining and assessing the impact of the loading site and the type of nanostructure modification on enhancing IFP. Based on the performed review results, for the researchers who tend to use nanocomposite membranes for treatment of organic, textile, brine and pharmaceutical wastewaters as well as membrane bioreactors, the PESNH2‐PDA‐Fe3O4M, PANFe3O4/ZrO2M, PVDFCMC‐ZnOM, AAAA‐CuSPSfM and PVDFOCMCS/Fe3O4M with IFP equal to 132.27, 15, 423.6, 16.025 and 5, were proposed, respectively.

Keywords

• Nanocomposite membranes
• Functionalized nanostructure
• Coated nanostructure
• Composite nanostructure
• Wastewater treatment