We demonstrate that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be readily immobilized into the pore structure of a polymeric membrane which can dramatically improve its performance. This is accomplished by developing a nanocomposite on hollow fiber under pressure. The nanotubes are trapped and held within the pores and serve as sorbents facilitating solute exchange from the donor to the acceptor phase. SEM and Raman measurement showed the presence and interaction of the nanocomposite with the membrane surface. The effectiveness of this carbon nanocomposite mediated process is studied by several membrane extraction processes including pervaporation for water treatment, membrane distillation for desalination and solvent extraction (1,2). The enhancement in performance led to the development of more energy efficient processes, leading to lower temperature operation and higher throughput.References: 1. Ornthida Sae-Khow and Somenath Mitra. Anal. Chem. 2010, 82, 5561-5567.2. Ornthida Sae-Khow and Somenath Mitra. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2010, 114,  16351-16356.

Enhanced environmental remediation and dealination using carbon nanotubes immobilized porous polymeric membranes

241st National Meeting (2011)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.