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Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membranes with Nature-Inspired MOFs Incorporated for Removing Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics

Si-Yuan Fang1, Ji-Lai Gong1,2,3, Lin Tang1

  • 1Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|May 18, 2023
PubMed

Insights

A novel metal-organic framework (MOF)-based thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane demonstrates high performance in removing antibiotics from wastewater. This nature-inspired membrane also exhibits excellent antifouling properties, crucial for effective wastewater reclamation.

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Nanofiltration membranes functionalized with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show promise for micropollutant removal and wastewater reclamation.
  • Current MOF-based membranes face challenges with fouling during antibiotic wastewater treatment due to undefined mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and investigate a nature-inspired MOF-based thin-film nanocomposite (TFN-CU) membrane for antibiotic wastewater treatment.
  • To evaluate the membrane's rejection capabilities, long-term stability, and antifouling behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of TFN membranes incorporating C-UiO-66-NH2 MOFs.
  • Performance evaluation including water permeance, antibiotic rejection (norfloxacin, ofloxacin), and stability tests using synthetic secondary effluent.
  • Antifouling assessment using bovine serum albumin (BSA) filtration and analysis via the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) approach.

Main Results:

  • The optimal TFN-CU5 membrane exhibited high water permeance and exceptional rejection rates for norfloxacin (>97%) and ofloxacin (>95%).
  • The membrane demonstrated excellent long-term stability in treating antibiotic-containing effluent, maintaining over 90% rejection.
  • Superior antifouling capability was observed, with flux recovery reaching 95.86% after BSA filtration, attributed to inhibited adhesion forces and repulsive interfacial interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Nature-inspired MOF-based TFN membranes offer high rejection and organic fouling resistance for antibiotic wastewater reclamation.
  • The antifouling mechanism is linked to specific interfacial interactions influenced by environmental factors like pH, calcium ions, humic acid, and ionic strength.
  • These findings provide insights for designing advanced antifouling membranes for effective wastewater treatment.
Keywords:
antibioticsantifouling behaviornanofiltration membranenature-inspired metal−organic frameworkswastewater reclamation

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