Preparation of Nanopore NaA zeolite membranes for water treatment

Zeolite membranes have been studied extensively for more than fifteen years, mainly focusing on gas separation and liquid pervaporation processes. Recently, molecular dynamic simulation has shown that zeolite membranes are theoretically suitable for ion removal from aqueous solutions by reverse osmosis (RO) processes. The separation mechanism of the zeolite membranes is the size exclusion of hydrated ions, which have kinetic sizes significantly larger than the aperture of the NaA zeolite (diameter 0.4 nm). In this research, synthesis of zeolite NaA membrane was investigated. SEM and XRD analysis have been used to confirm zeolite NaA membrane formation. Effects of operation condition (temperature, rate and pressure) on the membrane structure and performance have been investigated for NaA zeolite membranes grown onto seeded mullite supports.

Keywords:

nanopore NaA zeolite membrane , reverse osmosis , wastewater , water