Effect of Long-Term Sodium Hypochlorite Cleaning on Silicon Carbide Ultrafiltration Membranes Prepared via Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

Asif Jan; Mingliang Chen; Michiel Nijboer; Mieke W. J. Luiten-Olieman; Luuk C. Rietveld; Sebastiaan G. J. Heijman

doi:10.3390/membranes14010022

Membranes (Jan 2024)

Effect of Long-Term Sodium Hypochlorite Cleaning on Silicon Carbide Ultrafiltration Membranes Prepared via Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

Asif Jan,
Mingliang Chen,
Michiel Nijboer,
Mieke W. J. Luiten-Olieman,
Luuk C. Rietveld,
Sebastiaan G. J. Heijman

Affiliations

Asif Jan: Section of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Mingliang Chen: Section of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Michiel Nijboer: Inorganic Membranes, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Mieke W. J. Luiten-Olieman: Inorganic Membranes, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Luuk C. Rietveld: Section of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands
Sebastiaan G. J. Heijman: Section of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14010022
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 1
p. 22

Abstract

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Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) is widely used for the chemical cleaning of fouled ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Various studies performed on polymeric membranes demonstrate that long-term (>100 h) exposure to NaClO deteriorates the physicochemical properties of the membranes, leading to reduced performance and service life. However, the effect of NaClO cleaning on ceramic membranes, particularly the number of cleaning cycles they can undergo to alleviate irreversible fouling, remains poorly understood. Silicon carbide (SiC) membranes have garnered widespread attention for water and wastewater treatment, but their chemical stability in NaClO has not been studied. Low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LP-CVD) provides a simple and economical route to prepare/modify ceramic membranes. As such, LP-CVD facilitates the preparation of SiC membranes: (a) in a single step; and (b) at much lower temperatures (700–900 °C) in comparison with sol-gel methods (ca. 2000 °C). In this work, SiC ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared via LP-CVD at two different deposition temperatures and pressures. Subsequently, their chemical stability in NaClO was investigated over 200 h of aging. Afterward, the properties and performance of as-prepared SiC UF membranes were evaluated before and after aging to determine the optimal deposition conditions. Our results indicate that the SiC UF membrane prepared via LP-CVD at 860 °C and 100 mTorr exhibited excellent resistance to NaClO aging, while the membrane prepared at 750 °C and 600 mTorr significantly deteriorated. These findings not only highlight a novel preparation route for SiC membranes in a single step via LP-CVD, but also provide new insights about the careful selection of LP-CVD conditions for SiC membranes to ensure their long-term performance and robustness under harsh chemical cleaning conditions.

Published in Membranes

ISSN: 2077-0375 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Chemical engineering
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes

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