Controlled architecture of multi-defense anti-fouling forward osmosis membrane for efficient shale gas wastewater treatment

Forward osmosis (FO) membrane process facilitates effective treatment of shale gas wastewater (SGW) due to its tolerance to high salinity and exceptional separation performance. However, serious membrane fouling remains a challenge regarding the complexity of realistic SGW. To address the fouling issues, controlled block copolymer architecture was constructed on the FO membrane surface to achieve combined effect of oil-resistance, self-regenerating, and fouling mitigation. In the modification process, zwitterionic polymer with strong hydrophilicity and fluoropolymers with low surface energy were successively grafted to the membrane active layer by atom transfer radical polymerization. The outermost fluoropolymer layer with low surface energy imparts the membrane with anti-oil and self-regenerating capabilities. Meanwhile, the strong hydration effect of the zwitterionic polymer ensures that nonspecific foulants breaking through the outermost defense are kept away from the membrane surface. According to the Extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theory, the modified FO membrane exhibited a significantly higher total interaction energy (ΔG^TOT) compared to the pristine membrane when exposed to various types of model foulants (bovine serum albumin, humic acid, sodium alginate, mineral oil). Furthermore, the advantage of having multiple defense mechanisms was further substantiated through dynamic filtration tests with realistic SGW. In comparison to the pristine TFC membrane, the modified membrane not only experienced a much smaller decrease in water flux (reduced by 52%) during fouling but also an exceptional flux recovery after cleaning (∼97%). These findings underscore that the modified FO membranes greatly mitigated membrane fouling associated with SGW through the synergistic interplay between a zwitterionic polymer and a low surface energy material, highlighting its promising potential in SGW treatment via membrane technology.