Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2025
10:19
Three-Dimensionally Printed Microfluidic Cross-flow System for Ultrafiltration/Nanofiltration Membrane Performance Testing
Published on: February 13, 2016
11.5K
Improving the Structural Parameter of the Membrane Sublayer for Enhanced Forward Osmosis
Jin Fei Sark1, Nora Jullok1,2, Woei Jye Lau3
1Faculty of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 3, Arau 02600, Perlis, Malaysia.
Membranes
|July 2, 2021
Summary
This study developed a novel membrane sublayer composition to enhance forward osmosis (FO) performance by improving the structural (S) parameter. The optimized polysulfone:polyethersulfone ratio membrane showed improved water flux and reduced mass transport resistance at elevated temperatures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Membrane Technology
Background:
- The structural (S) parameter quantifies mass transport resistance in asymmetric membranes, crucial for forward osmosis (FO) efficiency.
- Improving the S parameter is key to enhancing FO performance by reducing internal concentration polarization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate a novel membrane sublayer with an improved S parameter for enhanced FO.
- To investigate the effect of polysulfone:polyethersulfone (PSf:PES) ratios on membrane properties and FO performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of thin film composite (TFC) membranes with varying PSf:PES sublayer ratios via phase inversion and interfacial polymerization.
- Characterization of membrane properties including contact angle, porosity, water permeability (A), and salt permeability (B).
- Evaluation of membrane performance in FO, including NaCl rejection, water flux, and reverse salt flux (RSF) at different temperatures.
Main Results:
- A PSf:PES ratio of 2:3 yielded membranes with the lowest contact angle, highest porosity, and highest water/salt permeability.
- Elevated temperatures (30-40 °C) decreased the S parameter, with a significant reduction observed in high-water-permeability membranes.
- Increased temperature led to higher water flux and reverse salt flux (RSF), correlating with a reduced S parameter.
Conclusions:
- The PSf:PES ratio significantly impacts membrane properties and FO performance.
- The S parameter is temperature-dependent and can be effectively reduced in membranes with high water permeability at elevated temperatures.
- Novel membrane sublayer compositions offer a promising route to enhance FO processes.
Related Concept Videos
02:40Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions
43.4K
A number of natural and synthetic materials exhibit selective permeation, meaning that only molecules or ions of a certain size, shape, polarity, charge, and so forth, are capable of passing through (permeating) the material. Biological cell membranes provide elegant examples of selective permeation in nature, while dialysis tubing used to remove metabolic wastes from blood is a more simplistic technological example. Regardless of how they may be fabricated, these materials are generally...
43.4K
01:30Osmosis
9.7K
Osmosis is the movement of free water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. The water's concentration gradient across the membrane is inversely proportional to the solutes' concentration. Whereas diffusion transports material across membranes and within cells, osmosis transports only water across a membrane, and the membrane limits the diffusion of solutes in the water. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of...
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of...
9.7K
00:47Osmosis
186.7K
Approximately 60% to 95% of the weight of living organisms is attributed to water. Therefore, maintaining appropriate water balance within cells is of paramount importance. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane, such as a cell’s plasma membrane. In living organisms, water plays a crucial role as a solvent—a molecule that dissolves other molecules.
186.7K
01:19Fluid Mosaic Model
14.3K
Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich...
14.3K
01:23Membrane Fluidity
164.2K
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
164.2K
01:26Membrane Fluidity
13.4K
Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
13.4K