Multifunctional surface engineered membranes with self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties for water remediation

Sustainable access to safely managed water supply system remains the center of economic and social development for any nation. Qatar, being a nation 90% depending on the desalination of seawater for drinking purpose, is committed to develop effective and low-cost separation techniques for the efficient removal of contaminants from water. Among various wastewater management, treatment of oily wastewater is particularly important for Middle East nations. This project is focused on developing surface engineered polymer membranes with self-cleaning and antifouling properties for water purification, specially focusing on tertiary treatment of produced water. Two forms of specially designed membranes will be developed for this study namely, nanofibrous electrospun copolyamide membrane and highly porous alginate aerogel membranes. The main technology used for the membrane surface modification will be plasma polymerization which is a versatile, target specific technology that does not require a particular substrate. The base membrane used for the project will be nanofibrous electrospun copolyamide membrane and its various modifications including composites and surface modifications. The functionalized aerogel membranes will be designed using sodium alginate, which is anionic polysaccharide derived from algae. In order to inculcate inherent superhydrophobic, self- cleaning and antifouling properties to the membranes, various approaches like introducing surface charges on the membrane surface using plasma polymerization, adding specially designed inorganic fillers like plasma coated zeolite/nanocluster hybrids etc. will be adopted. The developed membranes will be tested for tertiary water treatment. Detailed study of antifouling and self- cleaning property of the membranes will be established following standard analysis protocol.

The strategic goals for supporting this collaborative project are:
1) Build a collaborative relationship with Qatar University, which is ranked well above Flinders on the University rankings (208 vs 425 in the QS ranking).
2) Generate joint publications which will be used as a feasibility demonstration to support future larger project applications from Qatar funding sources and other international sources, which will potentially bring international funds to Flinders University.
3) Create platforms for joint supervision of HDR students
4) Increase the visibility of the College of Medicine and Flinders University in the Middle East.