Georges Hussussian, “Investigating the Chlorine Resistance of Covalent Organic Framework Nanofiltration Membranes”
Mentor: Xiaoli Ma, Materials Science & Engineering, Engineering & Applied Science (College of)
Oral Presentation: 11:00am Union E250
Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) are promising materials for membrane-based water treatment applications. However, their stability when exposed to free chlorine, a common disinfectant in water treatment, remains largely unexplored. The objective of this research is to examine the chlorine resistance of COF nanofiltration membranes by measuring water permeance and salt rejection over different exposure times to controlled concentrations of free chlorine. The membranes were synthesized through interfacial polymerization on commercial ultrafiltration supports, resulting in a thin-film composite structure. Their performance was evaluated before and after exposure to a chlorine solution using a cross-flow filtration system. Initial results indicate that COF membranes retained their performance for over 500 hours of exposure to 1 ppm free chlorine. These findings suggest that certain COF membranes may demonstrate greater chlorine resistance compared to conventional polyamide membranes.