Preparation of thin film nanocomposite membranes modified with zeolite X and investigation of their desalination and heavy metal removal performance by the forward osmosis method

Amini, Mojtaba; Nikkhoo, Mohammad; Bagherzadeh, Mojtaba; Seidi, Farzad

doi:10.22036/cr.2025.521254.1276

Preparation of thin film nanocomposite membranes modified with zeolite X and investigation of their desalination and heavy metal removal performance by the forward osmosis method

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mojtaba Amini ¹

Mohammad Nikkhoo ²

Mojtaba Bagherzadeh ³

Farzad Seidi ⁴

¹ University of Tabriz

² a. Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

³ Chemistry Department, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ Nanjing Forestry University

10.22036/cr.2025.521254.1276

Abstract

Efficient membranes have been designed for desalination and removal of heavy metal ions to address water scarcity. This study utilized zeolite X particles, a hydrophilic and porous material, to modify the surface of thin film composite (TFC) membranes and create a new type of thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. The performance of these membranes in the forward osmosis (FO) process and their efficacy in removing Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution were investigated. Various analyses (FE-SEM, FT-IR, EDS, water contact angle and AFM) were conducted to study the effects of zeolite particles on the morphology, chemical structure, hydrophilicity, and topology of the polyamide (PA) active layer. Finally, by comparing the obtained results, the water flux and selectivity increased from 19.25 LMH and 0.49 g/L for the unmodified membrane to 14.28 LMH and 0.46 g/L for the membrane containing 0.025 wt% of the modifying particles, respectively. This membrane was also able to increase the percentage of Cd2+ ions removed from the aqueous solution for the unmodified membrane from 96.64 to 97.09.

Keywords

Forward osmosis

Zeolite X

Thin film nanocomposite membrane

Desalination

Heavy metal removal

Subjects