DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF SULFONATED POLYMERIC MEMBRANES FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Abstract

The growing demands for clean water have attracted enormous interests from all over the world in the membrane-based water treatment technologies that can enable high-efficiency and low-fouling separation processes. To meet the challenge, polymeric material development and membrane design for various waste streams applications become critical research topics worldwide. The objectives of this dissertation are to design and develop polymeric membranes based on the unique properties of sulfonated materials, to reveal the membrane formation mechanism and structure-performance relationships, as well as to apply novel membrane configurations for improved membrane properties.