(580g) Ceramic Hollow Fiber Supported Metal-Organic Framework Uio-66 for Enhanced Adsorptive Separations

Ceramic Hollow Fiber
Supported Metal-Organic Framework Uio-66 for Enhanced Adsorptive Separations

Chenghong Wang,^{a, b} Dr. Melanie Lee,^a Dr. Xinlei Liu,^a
Dr. Bo Wang,^a

Professor J. Paul Chen,^b and
Professor Kang Li^*a

^a The Barrer Center, Department of Chemical Engineering,
Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

^b NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences &
Engineering (NGS), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National
University of Singapore, Singapore, 117456, Singapore

ABSTRACT

A
novel ceramic hollow fiber was prepared through controllable spinning and
sintering to form a two-distinct-layer geometry: one very thin barrier layer
containing 3D-pore network
structure at the lumen, and one unique layer containing a plurality of conical
micro-channels towards the
shell side.[1] These micro-channels not only reduce the mass transfer
resistance as a transport network, giving rise to competitive permeation
fluxes, but also form pockets within which functional materials can be readily
deposited.

Recently,
metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a new class of porous materials, has exhibited
a great potential in various applications, owing to their unique properties
like exceptionally high porosity, large surface area and customizable chemical
functionality.[2] One
of the representative examples is UiO-66, a
zirconium-based MOF, which has shown the best adsorption capacity for arsenic
removal from wastewater.[3] However, the current discussion regarding MOF
adsorbent is majorly based on the particle samples. In order to be industrially
applicable, the powder materials have to be specifically shaped or supported,
since in practical dispersed particles would easily leak through the
application compartment, resulting in challenging spent-particles-separation
issues and severe safety concerns.[4]

Herein,
we developed and optimized a functional adsorptive membrane by incorporating
UiO-66 into the ceramic hollow fiber. The fast adsorption kinetics provided by
UiO-66 allows an efficient adsorptive separation process to be realized within the
micro-channels, and the thin barrier layer can prevent any loss of the active
adsorbents from leaking out. As a proof of concept, this adsorptive membrane was
found to be capable of effectively remediating arsenic contaminated water and producing
potable water recovery (less than 10 ppb – required by World Health
Organization). In comparison, to achieve a similar performance, the
conventional adsorption packing column required eight times amount of active
UiO-66 adsorbents. Hence, this adsorptive membrane has exhibited a promising
potential to be applied for industrial wastewater decontamination. Looking
forward, different functional membranes can be prepared based on specific
adsorptive applications, as a wide range of adsorbents can be loaded into this
novel ceramic hollow fiber, of which the micro-channel size and barrier layer
pore size can be easily manipulated during fabrication.

Figure 1.
Schematic diagram of arsenic contaminated water remediation by the adsorptive
membrane. The inset demonstrates an enlarged cross-sectional view of the adsorptive
membrane. Blue molecule: water; green molecule: arsenic pollutant.

KEYWORDS

MOF, ceramic
hollow fiber, adsorption, arsenic, water remediation

REFERENCES

[1] M. Lee, B. Wang and K. Li, J. Membr. Sci.,
2016, 503, 48.

[2] H. Furukawa, K. E. Cordova, M. O'Keeffe and
O. M. Yaghi, Science, 2013, 341, 1230444.

[3] C. Wang, X. Liu, J. P. Chen and K. Li, Sci
Rep, 2015, 5, 16613.

[4] J. He, T. S. Siah and J. Paul Chen, Water
Res., 2014, 56, 88.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported by the research
funding provided by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the
United Kingdom (Grant no. EPSRC, EP/J014974/1). C. Wang gratefully acknowledges
the National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences
and Engineering scholarship.