Functionalized Membranes As a Flexible Platform for Water Detoxification

Membrane based water remediation techniques have many inherent advantages over traditional methods including high selectivity, continuous operation, and low energy consumption. These advantages warrant study into advanced applications of membranes for water remediation. Heavy metals such as selenium, cadmium, lead, and chromium are disposed of by electronics manufacturing and coal-fired power plants and pose a growing environmental danger as they easily reach toxic concentrations. For this reason, a highly selective and sustainable treatment for heavy metal removal has been examined by using functionalized membranes. Synthesis of iron nanoparticles within the membrane structure has proven to be an effective platform for the detoxification of selenium contaminated water. Further, by a similar functionalization it is hypothesized that the degradation of specific toxic organic compounds which pose a threat to the environment could also be introduced as an application of iron nanoparticle functionalized membranes. This study examines the possibility of the application of functionalized membranes for both heavy metal removal and the degradation of toxic organic acids in water.