Nanoenabled membranes based on bio-materials for

water purification

Aji P Mathew

Division of Materials ScienceLuleå University of Tehnology, Sweden

April 23-24, 2012- Thessaloniki, Greece

Outline

§ General facts

§ Project concept and aims

§ Biobased nanomaterials

§ Membrane/ filter processing

§ Conclusions

§NanoSelect, EU FP7, NMP4-SL-2012-280519

§Functional membranes/filters with anti/low-fouling surfaces for water purifcation, through selective adsorption on biobased nanocrystals and fibrils

§Start date : 1st Feb, 2012

§Duration: 48 months

§Total Budget: 3.8 MEuros

General facts

Consortium

Participant No.

Legal Name Country Org. Type

1 LTU Sweden Univ2 VTT Finland RO3 Imperial UK Univ4 EMPA Switzerland RO5 UM Slovenia Univ6 FideNa Spain RO7 Acondaqua Spain SME8 Processum Sweden SME9 AlfaLaval Sweden IND

Project Concept

§ Development of bio-based nano-enhanced membranes for water treatment, with special focus on fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metal ions and microbial contaminants relevant in Europe

§ Use biobased nanomaterials like cellulose nanofibers and cellulose or chitin nanocrystals isolated from industrial residues and side-streams

§ Tailored interaction with contaminants and low/ anti fouling by surface functionalization

§ The membranes and filters, possibly compostable after use ( eg. with recovered fertilizers)

§ Prototype of membrane modules and scale up plan

The main objectives of NanoSelect

Implementation plan

Nanomaterials

ManMan--mademade

Nano claysNano claysNanosilicaNanosilicaCarbon nanotubesCarbon nanotubesCarbon nanowiresCarbon nanowiresTiOTiO22 nanoparticlesnanoparticlesAg nanoparticlesAg nanoparticles

From natureFrom nature

Cellulose fibrilsCellulose fibrilsCellulose whiskersCellulose whiskersChitin whiskersChitin whiskersCollagen fibrilsCollagen fibrils

Cellulose fibrils

Chitin whiskers

2 D

3 D

Metal nanoparticles

2 D

Carbon nanowires

1 D

Nanosilicates

Top- down approach to reach nano scale

Cellulose chains

Cellulose

Lignin

Hemicellulose

Microfibril

Crystalline

Amorphous

3 nm

Separation of nanocellulose and nanochitin:Nanofibers and nanocrystals

§ Mechanical treatments§Ultra fine grinding §High pressure homogenizing§Ultra sonication

§ Chemical treatments§Acid hydrolysis§Enzymatic treatments

Mechanical separation of nanofibers

Soaking in water and mixing

Refining (grinding) Is

olat

ion

proc

ess

Repeated until gel formation

Puri

ficat

ion

Nanofibers from biobased resourcesBarley Grass Otas Carrot residueSludge

Nanofibers from residues

Isolation of cellulose nanocrystals

D. Bondeson, A. Mathew, K. Oksman, Cellulose, 2006, 13(2), 171-180

2.

HCL or H2SO4

3.

Heating

6.

Sonication

4.

Centrifugation

5.

Dialysis

1.H2O

+MCC

MCC Cellulose whiskers

200 nm20 µm

10 – 15 µm

Acid hydrolysis with HCL or H2SO4

amorphous cellulosecrystalline cellulose

Nanocrystals: Where to get them?

What makes natural nanomaterials interesting?

§High mechanical properties; Stiffness, 150 GPa- Stronger than cast iron (100Gpa)

§ Defect free

§ Large surface area

§ Possibility for functionalization

§ Biodegradable/ biocompatible

§ Non-toxic

§ Green

cfbt-us.com

www.imageenvision.com

Current scenario

§Large interest for bionano-materials

§Research focused on§New raw materials sources§Nanocomposite materials §Modelling§Organized/ self assembled structures§Large scale / pilot scale production§Products: automotives, medical, cosmetics,

textiles, sport goods, electronics, packaging

Cellu Comp, Carrot Stix™www.cellucomp.com

H Yano Kyoto, Japan

Water cleaning membranes…. a new application area….

Porous membranes

§ Electrospinning§Polymer and nanocrystals§Porous mats reinforced and functionalised

with nanocrystals

§ Aerogels §Extremely lightweight materials §Both whiskers and nanofibers§Porous solid materials with a density as

low as 10 g/cm3

§Sol-gel process and freeze drying/ supercritical CO2 drying

Dense membranes

§ Film casting §Solvent casting and tape casting§Functional polymers, nanofibers and

nanocrystals§Multi functional layered structures

§ Coatings §Functional polymers, nanofibers and

nanocrystals on support layers§Thin layers using spin-coating, dip-coating,

LBL assembly etc§Multilayered structures

Conclusions

§ NanoSelect project is expected to lead to

§Know-how on the interaction of biobased nanomaterials (cellulose/ chitin nanocrystals and nanofibers) with contaminants in water

§Membranes/ filters functionalised with biobased nanomaterials for water cleaning

§New use for nanocellulose/ nanochitin, as functional additive in water cleaning

AcknowledgementsFinancial support from European Commission under EU FP7, NMP4-SL-2012-280519, NanoSelect is gratefully acknowldeged.

Thank you for listening…

www.nanoselect.eu