Naturally Extracted Hydrophobic Solvent and Self-Assembly in Interfacial Polymerization

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Membrane nanofiltration is crucial in pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries for product separation and solvent recovery.
• Interfacial polymerization (IP) is the standard for producing thin-film composite membranes, but solvent emissions pose environmental and health concerns.
• Developing greener alternatives for membrane fabrication, especially for the IP organic phase, is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-performing composite membrane using a sustainable, zero vapor pressure organic phase for interfacial polymerization.
• To address the environmental and health concerns associated with volatile organic solvents in membrane production.
• To explore the potential of naturally extracted oleic acid as a green alternative in membrane fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized interfacial polymerization (IP) with zero vapor pressure, naturally extracted oleic acid as the organic phase.
• Investigated the self-assembly structure induced by oleic acid's polar head during film formation.
• Characterized the resulting composite membranes for performance in nanofiltration.

Main Results:

• Successfully prepared a high-performing composite membrane using oleic acid, demonstrating low volatility and effective monomer dissolution.
• The membrane exhibited selective separation for small molecules with a molecular weight cutoff of 650 g mol⁻¹.
• Achieved a high permeance of approximately 57 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹, indicating efficient water flux.

Conclusions:

• Oleic acid is a viable and sustainable alternative organic phase for interfacial polymerization in composite membrane fabrication.
• This green approach significantly reduces volatile solvent emissions, aligning with environmentally friendly manufacturing principles.
• The developed membranes offer excellent performance for small molecule separation in nanofiltration processes.