Materials and engineering design of interfacial polymerized thin film composite nanofiltration membrane for industrial applications

In this chapter, the synthesis of thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membrane via interfacial polymerization (IP) is discussed from a material and engineering perspective. A nanofiltration membrane is conventionally used in treating wastewater, water treatment, and food processing. However, a recent advance in NF enables it to be applied in harsher conditions such as metal ions recovery, acid separation, and solvent recovery. A TFC membrane prepared via interfacial polymerization has higher water permeability compared to other asymmetric membranes; however, it is limited by monomer availability and reactivity. The preparation method for a TFC NF membrane could be replaced by other methods such as layer-by-layer assembly and direct surface modification to produce the enhanced positively charged membrane and solvent resistance membrane. A thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane, which has the added advantages for new applications, is also discussed in this chapter. The nanostructure of TFN offers the benefit of enhanced water permeability and selective separation due to the reduced tortuosity and increasing micro-porosity. Last but not least, the evolution of membrane transport model based on the convective, diffusive, and electro-migration is discussed for better understanding of the separation mechanism of NF.