Development of Advanced Hollow-fibre Membrane modules

Hollow fiber membranes are unique because of their structure and the way they function. The structure of the hollow fiber membrane allows for a very high surface area-to-volume ratio, which means that a relatively small amount of membrane material can effectively filter a large volume of water. The unique structure of the hollow fiber membranes also allows for a high degree of flexibility in their design and configuration. They can be easily adapted to suit a variety of water treatment needs by changing the pore size of the membrane or adding additional layers of filtration. Additionally, the fibers can be configured in different ways to allow for cross-flow filtration, which increases the efficiency of the filtration process. Another key advantage of hollow fiber membranes is their ability to remove a wide range of contaminants, including bacteria, viruses, organic matter, and dissolved solids. This is because the membranes can be designed to have different pore sizes, allowing for the filtration of particles of varying sizes.

NYUAD water research center is capable of fabricating nanostructured advanced hollow fiber polymeric membranes containing nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphenes, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), etc., to improve the flux, robustness, antifouling and antiscaling properties, and overall performance of the filtration process. Overall, the unique structure and flexibility of nanostructured advanced hollow fiber membranes make them a highly effective and efficient method for water treatment, with a range of advantages over other types of separation processes.