Scalable aqueous-phase fabrication of reduced graphene oxide nanofiltration membranes by an integrated roll-to-roll (R2R) process

Esfahani, Amirsalar R.; Ma, Chen; Flewellen, Uwezo A.; Nair, Sankar; Harris, Tequila A.L.

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2023.121669

Scalable aqueous-phase fabrication of reduced graphene oxide nanofiltration membranes by an integrated roll-to-roll (R2R) process

Journal Article · Sat Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Journal of Membrane Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2023.121669· OSTI ID:2418561

^[1]; Ma, Chen ^[2]; ^[2]; Nair, Sankar ^[2]; ^[2]

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); OSTI
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Economic fractionation of multicomponent biomass-derived streams is a key challenge in biobased fuels and chemicals production. Kraft black liquor (BL) is generated at ~1 billion tons/yr globally from biomass pulping and contains ~15wt% total solids including lignin, hemicellulose fragments, and inorganics. Membrane-based BL concentration is attractive but challenged by low solute rejections and poor stability in BL, which combines alkaline pH (~13), high dissolved solids content (15+ wt%) and high temperature (70–85°C). Here we discuss the scaled fabrication and characterization of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanofiltration membranes by slot die coating on a roll-to-roll (R2R) with integrated vacuum filtration. Here, we obtain high-quality 90×30 cm rGO membranes (referred to as “R2R-rGO membranes” in this work) with ~100 nm average thickness supported on porous poly(ethersulfone) (PES) sheets, and an effective area of 2700cm². We present characterizations of their microstructure and uniformity as mapped over large areas by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ellipsometry, adhesion test and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The constructed ellipsometry model for the rGO membrane/PES substrate composite was successfully applied to 48 different locations of the R2R-rGO membranes. The R2R-rGO membranes showed >98% lignin rejection with a steady state flux of ~12 LMH at 50bar in a 15.7wt% total solids (TS) kraft BL stream at 72°C and 2–3 gal/min crossflow rates. Slot die coating on a R2R platform with integrated vacuum filtration can enable rapid fabrication of high-quality GO membranes at scale without organic solvents or volatile organic compounds.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), New York, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007888

OSTI ID:: 2418561

Journal Information:: Journal of Membrane Science, Journal Name: Journal of Membrane Science Journal Issue: C Vol. 678; ISSN 0376-7388

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Scalable aqueous-phase fabrication of reduced graphene oxide nanofiltration membranes by an integrated roll-to-roll (R2R) process

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