Synthesis of Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes Consisting of Novel Water and Thermally Stable Metal-Organic Frameworks for Pressure-Assisted Osmosis

This study demonstrates a facile and efficient method for the synthesis of novel water and thermally stable metal organic framework (MOF), as well as its potential application towards the synthesis of thin-film nanocomposite membranes over nonwoven fabric support for the pressure-assisted osmosis (PAO) water treatment process. PAO technology is a modified version of the forward osmosis (FO) process designed to mitigate significant technical challenges encountered in FO operations like fouling and reverse salt leakage. Investigation into FO membranes within the PAO system is ongoing due to the absence of membranes possessing the desired characteristics in the evolving PAO technology. In the MOF synthesis, a new organic linker, cyclic propyl phosphonic anhydride (T3P (R)), reacts with a zinc salt at 80 degrees C in water to obtain Zn-T3P-MOF. The data comprises the characterization of the Zn-T3P-MOF, determination of membrane intrinsic properties, analysis of membrane morphology and other physical properties, and evaluation of their performance in both FO and PAO processes. The membranes incorporating Zn-T3P-MOF showed increased water permeability while reducing salt permeability. The TFN membrane with an optimal loading of 0.05 wt% Zn-T3P-MOF showed a water flux of 48.2 L/m2h and an RSF of 0.56 g/m2h at an applied hydraulic pressure (triangle P) of 6 bar. Due to the improved mechanical qualities brought about by the nonwoven fabric support utilized during the synthesis of the MOF-impregnated membranes, they outperformed the commercial FO membranes in the PAO operations.