Ceramic hollow fiber NF membrane incorporating UiO-66 for the chlorinated hydrocarbons removal.

[Display omitted] • TFN(O) membrane exhibits a high flux of 30.4 L∙m−2∙h−1∙bar−1 with 96% rejection for TCE. • The molecular orientation of n-hexane is affected by UiO-66. • The asymmetric distribution of UiO-66 in PA layer has been studied. • The tandem model of dissolution and diffusion in NF is applied to the MD simulation. Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) are highly toxic to human health and the ecological environment. In this study, thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes doping with UiO-66 were prepared and applied to the CHC removal in groundwater. TFN membranes with UiO-66 asymmetrically distributed in the polyamide (PA) layer were prepared by incorporating UiO-66 in the aqueous phase and the organic phase, respectively. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was applied to do further mechanism research. The water boundary layer surrounding UiO-66 induces a wrinkled phase interface when UiO-66 is dispersed in the aqueous phase. Also, the dissolution-diffusion model was used for investigating nanofiltration (NF) process. Water molecules show a faster dissolution rate and a higher dissolution equilibrium on the UiO-66 surface. UiO-66 exhibits twice the water number density relative to the PA due to super-hydrophilicity, which provides a greater driving force for the mass transfer of water. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of water in the UiO-66 pore is about 1.5 times that in PA. As a result, TFN(O) membrane exhibits a high pure water flux of 30.4 L∙m−2∙h−1∙bar−1 with the trichloroethylene (TCE) and trichlorobenzene (TCB) rejection above 96%. This work provides a solution for CHC removal of groundwater and a mechanistic explanation for the interfacial polymerization (IP) and separation process of doped nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]