Nanotechnology Applications for Clean Water

Chapter 4 Nanotechnology-Based Membranes for Water Purification

Eric M.V. Hoek, Asim K. Ghosh

Civil & Environmental Engineering Department and California NanoSystems Institute University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

4.1 Introduction 48

4.2 Review of Membrane Nanotechnologies 49

4.2.1 Inorganic-Organic Nanocomposite Membranes 49

4.2.2 Hybrid Protein-Polymer Biomimetic Membranes 51

4.2.3 Aligned-Carbon Nanotube Membranes 53

4.3 Conclusions 55

Abstract

Here we present a critical review of protein polymer biomimetic membranes, aligned-carbon nanotube membranes, and thin film nanocomposite membranes. Each technology has been touted as a possible low-energy replacement for conventional reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in desalination ...