Cross‐linked boron nitride‐piperazine amide thin film nanocomposite membranes for rejection and concentration of per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Environmental Quality ManagementVolume 31, Issue 4 p. 425-432 RESEARCH ARTICLE Cross-linked boron nitride-piperazine amide thin film nanocomposite membranes for rejection and concentration of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Sara Abdikheibari, Corresponding Author Sara Abdikheibari [email protected] Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia Correspondence Sara Abdikheibari, Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia. Email: [email protected] Ludovic F. Dumée, Khalifa University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorKanagaratnam Baskaran, Kanagaratnam Baskaran Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorRosanne Guijt, Rosanne Guijt Centre for Rural and Regional Futures, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorWeiwei Lei, Weiwei Lei Deakin University, Geelong Institute for Frontier Materials, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorLudovic F. Dumée, Corresponding Author Ludovic F. Dumée [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-0264-4024 Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Center for Membrane and Advanced Water Technology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Correspondence Sara Abdikheibari, Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia. Email: [email protected] Ludovic F. Dumée, Khalifa University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Sara Abdikheibari, Corresponding Author Sara Abdikheibari [email protected] Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia Correspondence Sara Abdikheibari, Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia. Email: [email protected] Ludovic F. Dumée, Khalifa University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorKanagaratnam Baskaran, Kanagaratnam Baskaran Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorRosanne Guijt, Rosanne Guijt Centre for Rural and Regional Futures, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorWeiwei Lei, Weiwei Lei Deakin University, Geelong Institute for Frontier Materials, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorLudovic F. Dumée, Corresponding Author Ludovic F. Dumée [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-0264-4024 Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Center for Membrane and Advanced Water Technology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Correspondence Sara Abdikheibari, Deakin University, Geelong, School of Engineering, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia. Email: [email protected] Ludovic F. Dumée, Khalifa University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 08 January 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.21828Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Abstract Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-contaminated wastewaters present major public health risks given the PFAS thermo-chemical stability and its demonstrated adverse impacts on aquatic life, extended to the entire food chain. To date, remediation of PFAS-contaminated wastewaters have been mainly undertaken with poorly cost-effective strategies, involving multi-step processes. Advanced separation systems enabling the selective capture and concentration of PFAS must be developed. In this work, the potential of nanofiltration (NF) membranes to reject short chain length PFAS, potassium nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate (C4F9SO3K), is demonstrated with both bare polymeric and amine functionalized-boron nitride BN(NH2) nanosheet-decorated membranes. The BN(NH2)-decorated membranes exhibited almost 1.04 times higher permeation upon C4F9SO3K filtration compared to the bare poly(piperazine amide) (PPA) membranes (53 versus 26 L m−2 h−1), while maintaining very high C4F9SO3K rejection levels above 93%. A commercial membrane exhibited similar permeation to BN(NH2)-decorated membrane, but only retained ∼65% of the C4F9SO3K. The improved filtration performance of the BN(NH2)-decorated membrane was rationalized based on advanced characterization results to its enhanced wettability and negative charge density, resulting in weak interactions between the C4F9SO3K and BN(NH2) nanosheets. This communication demonstrates the role and potential of fine surface modifications of NF membranes to support improved separation performance towards PFAS removal. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflict of interest. Open Research DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT The data that supports the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article. Citing Literature Supporting Information Filename Description tqem21828-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx433.5 KB Supporting Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Volume31, Issue4Summer 2022Pages 425-432 RelatedInformation