Membraneless water filtration using CO.

Publication Year
2017

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

Water purification technologies such as microfiltration/ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis utilize porous membranes to remove suspended particles and solutes. These membranes, however, cause many drawbacks such as a high pumping cost and a need for periodic replacement due to fouling. Here we show an alternative membraneless method for separating suspended particles by exposing the colloidal suspension to CO. Dissolution of CO into the suspension creates solute gradients that drive phoretic motion of particles. Due to the large diffusion potential generated by the dissociation of carbonic acid, colloidal particles move either away from or towards the gas-liquid interface depending on their surface charge. Using the directed motion of particles induced by exposure to CO, we demonstrate a scalable, continuous flow, membraneless particle filtration process that exhibits low energy consumption, three orders of magnitude lower than conventional microfiltration/ultrafiltration processes, and is essentially free from fouling.

Journal
Nat Commun
Volume
8
Pages
15181
Date Published
2017 May 02
ISSN Number
2041-1723
Alternate Journal
Nat Commun
PMCID
PMC5418569
PMID
28462929