Interlayer-free Glucose Carbonised Template Silica Membranes for Brine Water Desalination

Abstract

Interlayer-free glucose carbonized template silica membranes based on tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and glucose were successfully prepared using an acid-base catalysed sol-gel method for artificial brine water desalination (7.5% wt NaCl solution %) at temperatures range from 25, 40 and 60 oC. The membranes were fabricated through sol-gel process by using TEOS (tetraethyl orthosilicate); ethanol; nitric acid; ammonia; aquadest and glucose as a template. By molar ratio is 1: 38: 0.0007: 0.0003: 5 and 0.25%; 0.5%, 1% w/v glucose as template.The results show the highest water fluxes of 1.8, 2.2 and 4.8 kg mC. These membranes calcined at 250 and 400 o−2−1 desalination process with excellent salt rejections of 99.5, 99.5 and 99.7%, respectively. It was found that the higher the NaCl solution temperature as feed solution as well as glucose concentration (0.25% to 1% wt) as template attached in the silica matrixes, the higher water fluxes even though the salt rejection remain the same. This study demonstrates that the organosilica membranes offered the carbonized silica mesostructure membranes with excellent separation of water from the hydrated salt ions, particularly for processing brine salt solutions. o h for 25, 40 and 60