Lg Nanoh2o, Inc.

Lg Chem, Ltd

Nanoh2o, Inc.

Nanoh20, Inc.

Brett Anderson Holmberg

Christopher James Kurth

Robert Leon Burk

Jeffrey Alan Koehler

Meijuan Zhou

Jeff Koehler

Alberto Goenaga

Hyungsam Choi

Sung Yeol Choi

Jin Kuk Lee

Youngsik Eom

Hyung Joon Jeon

Andrew Ford

Amit Sankhe

Reverse osmosis membranes made by interfacial polymerization of a monomer in a nonpolar (e.g. organic) phase together with a monomer in a polar (e.g. aqueous) phase on a porous support membrane. Interfacial polymerization process is disclosed for preparing a highly permeable RO membrane, comprising: contacting on a porous support membrane, a) a first solution containing 1,3-diaminobenzene, and b) a second solution containing trimesoyl chloride, wherein at least one of solutions a) and b) contains nanoparticles when said solutions are first contacted, and recovering a highly permeable RO membrane.

Hybrid nanoparticle TFC membranes

Provided is a process for preparation of a highly permeable thin film composite membranes for nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and forward osmosis, particularly for reverse osmosis of brackish water. The process includes treating a prepared TFC membrane containing a discrimination layer on a frontside, a support layer, and a felt layer on the backside by contacting the backside of TFC membrane with a solution containing a pore protection agent that includes a tertiary amine salt of camphorsulfonic acid prior to or at the same time as contacting the frontside of the membrane with a solution containing a coating agent and drying the membrane. Also provided are reverse osmosis membranes prepared in accord with the method, and modules containing the highly permeable thin film composite membranes.

Process for improved water flux through a TFC membrane

Provided is an interfacial polymerization process for preparation of a highly permeable thin film composite membrane, which can be used for nanofiltration, forward osmosis, or reverse osmosis, particularly for use with brackish water or seawater. The process includes contacting a porous support membrane with an aqueous phase containing a polyamine to form a coated support membrane, and applying an organic phase containing a polyfunctional acid halide to the coated support membrane to interfacially polymerize the polyamine and the polyfunctional acid halide to form a discrimination layer of a thin film composite membrane, where the aqueous and/or organic phases include a flux-enhancing additive and a boron rejection-enhancing additive that includes a biguanide compound, dicarbonate compound, pentathiodicarbonate compound, or salts thereof. Also provided are the membranes prepared by the methods and reverse osmosis modules containing the membranes.

Additives for boron rejection enhancement of a membrane

A process for preparing a reverse osmosis membrane that includes (A) providing a polyamine, a polyfunctional acid halide, and mono-hydrolyzed trimesoyl chloride; (B) combining the polyamine, polyfunctional acid halide, and mono-hydrolyzed trimesoyl chloride on the surface of a porous support membrane; and (C) interfacially polymerizing the polyamine and the polyfunctional acyl halide on the surface of the porous support membrane to form a reverse osmosis membrane comprising (i) the porous support membrane and (ii) a discrimination layer comprising a polyamide. The reverse osmosis membrane is characterized by a flux that is greater than the flux of the same membrane prepared in the absence of the mono-hydrolyzed trimesoyl chloride.

RO membranes using chlorinated water as a feed stream maybe protected from damage by the chlorine with a protective layer including reactive nitrogen which forms chloromines on the surface of the membrane that reduce chlorine penetration. This protective layer also provides substantial anti-fouling capabilities, whether used with a chlorinated or unchlorinated feed stream because the chloramines are anti-bacterial. Although chlorine is lost in use, the anti-fouling layer or coating can be recharged with additional chlorine without damaging the discrimination layer. The anti-fouling layer or coating may be advantageously used with Thin film composite, TFC, membranes for use in forward and reverse osmosis may include nanoparticles, monohydrolyzed and/or di-hydrolyzed TMC, and/or alkaline earth alkaline metal complexes or other additives.

Hybrid TFC RO membranes with nitrogen additives

An interfacial polymerization process (IFP) for preparing a highly permeable TFC RO membrane by contacting on a porous support membrane for IFP, a polyfunctional acyl halide monomer and a polyamine monomer and recovering a highly permeable thin film (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. At least one of solutions may contain nanoparticle additives which may release ions into solution and at least one of the solutions may contain additional ions from a second additive. The presence of the nanoparticle additives during IFP may increase the hydrophilicity and/or permeability of the recovered membrane compared to a control membrane. The presence of the additional ions from the second additive may also increase the permeability of the recovered membrane.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Brett Anderson Holmberg