Abstract
Aquaporin, a highly selective water channel protein, has received worldwide attention because of its potential to form biomimetic membranes with high flux and rejection for water reuse and desalination. In this study, purified aquaporins were incorporated into the active layer of the polybenzimidazole (PBI) nanofiltration membrane. Aquaporins were dispersed in gum arabic and embedded in amphiphilic polyvinyl alcohol with alkyl side chains (PVA-alkyl). PVA-alkyl embedded with treated aquaporins was then attached to flat sheet PBI membranes using carbodiimide chemistry. PVA-alkyl acted as support for aquaporins to prevent their chemical alteration and also gave the membranes mechanical strength. It was found that membranes modified with PVA-alkyl-AqpZ displayed lower flux declines and higher flux recoveries as compared to unmodified PBI membranes. Higher protein and salt rejections were also observed using PVA-alkyl-AqpZ modified membranes as compared to unmodified PBI membranes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 754-765 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Separation and Purification Technology |
| Volume | 156 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 17 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Funding
The authors want to acknowledge the sources of funding, NSF 1308095 and USGS 104(b): Ohio Water Development Authority GRT00028988/60040357 for funding this project. PBI Performance Products Inc. is thanked for supplying the PBI dope for the study.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Energy Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Oak Ridge National Laboratory Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment National Science Foundation National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center National Natural Science Foundation of China | GRT00028988/60040357, 1308095, USGS 104 |
Keywords
- Aquaporin
- Biomimetic
- Nanofiltration
- Water purification
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- Filtration and Separation