Composite membranes comprised of a thin coating film formed over a microporous support membrane are the basis for state-of-the-art desalination, offering the possibility to independently tailor and optimize the support membrane and the coating film. However, limited information exists in the open literature about the impacts that support and film characteristics have on overall composite membrane performance.  Numerical simulations and an approximate analytical expression have been used to explore the impacts of the support membrane pore size and porosity along with film thickness on the transport characteristics of the composite membrane.  Results suggest the flux and rejection of a composite membrane may be fine-tuned, by adjusting support membrane skin layer porosity and pore size, independent of the properties of the coating film. Moreover, water flux may be unevenly distributed over the surface of a composite membrane, potentially creating local 'hot spots' that govern initial stages of membrane fouling and scaling.

Effects of support membrane geometrical properties and film morphology on transport through composite membranes

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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