Recent advances and future challenges of polyamide-based chlorine-resistant membrane

Abstract

Polyamide (PA) membrane is extensively used in various membrane separation processes due to its easy preparation, high selectivity and good acid-base stability. However, the PA material is vulnerable to the attack of free chlorine which causes PA chlorination degradation and eventually damages the membrane selectivity. As such, developing chlorine-resistant membrane has become a research focus in membrane technology recently. This accelerates the emergence of a large number of novel PA membranes. However, reviews on this aspect are quite rare to date. Thus, providing an updated critical review on the PA-based anti-chlorine membrane is highly needed. This paper aims to critically review the recent development in the PA chlorine-resistant membrane designed specially via the modification of the PA selective layer. The recent advances in the PA anti-chlorine membranes are briefly introduced first. The mechanism and influential factors of the chlorination of PA membrane are subsequently presented. The strengths and limitations of the recently developed PA anti-chlorine membrane are critically evaluated afterward. The challenges and future research directions of the sustainably chlorine-resistant PA membranes are finally discussed. This article can provide insightful guidance for the future development of the PA-based chlorine-resistant membrane.

Keywords

• Polyamide membrane
• Chlorine resistant membrane
• Free chlorine
• Membrane modification
• Membrane separation