BIOMIMETIC MEMBRANES EMBEDDED WITH AQUAPORIN Z FOR WATER REUSE AND DESALINATION

Abstract

Fresh water scarcity is one of the problems that the whole world is facing today. Forward osmosis and low pressure reverse osmosis are possible solutions to provide high quality water. Thus, creating a robust and highly permeable yet selective membrane for water purification has gained much attention worldwide in recent years. This thesis presents a systematic study on the design and fabrication of AquaporinZ (AqpZ)-embedded biomimetic membrane.

Firstly, the mechanical property of the artificial AqpZ-embedded lipid bilayer membrane was explored. Secondly, the performance of biomimetic membrane has been has been demonstrated in forward osmosis. Thirdly, a new membrane with enhanced the mechanical property and higher permeability and selectivity has been fabricated. Finally, water transport through the robust AqpZ-embedded vesicular membrane has been investigated through a newly modified transport model in a FO process. This study provides a direction for the further development of the AqpZ-incorporated membrane for water purification.