Modification of thin film composite hollow fiber membranes for osmotic energy generation with low organic fouling tendency

Abstract The emerging technology of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) has been intensely studied over the past decades due to its potential in harvesting salinity gradient energy, but membrane fouling can deteriorate the PRO performance. To mitigate membrane fouling, the outer surface of the inner-selective thin-film composite (TFC) polyetherimide (PEI) hollow fiber membrane was modified by depositing poly-(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly acrylic acid (PAA) polyelectrolytes. The results show that the outer surface of the modified membrane had less pores exposed and was more negatively charged, which was beneficial for preventing the entrance and adsorption of the negatively charged foulants into the membrane substrate. It was further proved that the modified membrane was effective in reducing PRO fouling by organic macromolecules such as alginate and bovine serum albumin, while maintaining the mechanical properties and intrinsic separation properties well. Interestingly, after 200 ppm alginate was introduced to the feed water, the power density of the modified membrane could be maintained constant at 16.2 W·m − 2 at 15 bar while that of the non-modified membrane reduced around 17% at the end of a 300-min testing period. The results suggest that the polyelectrolytes deposition is a feasible strategy for adding anti-fouling property to PRO membranes.