Surface Oxidation of Ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) Membrane for the Treatment of Real Produced Water by Membrane Distillation

Modification of ethyleneechlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) membranes by simple surface oxidation was reported in the present investigation in order to induce thin hydrophilic layer on hydrophobic membrane surface for the treatment of real produced water (PW). FTIR spectra indicates the appearance of hydrophilic functional groups (⁻OH and ⁻COOH) on the membrane surface due to modification, while water contact angle, zeta potential measurement, EDX, XPS analysis confirmed the presence of O functionalized hydrophilic groups on the surface. The effect of modification temperature and the time of surface oxidation on the performance of the resulting membranes were studied systematically, which revealed that induction of optimized hydrophilicity can successfully reduce the organic fouling. However, too much hydrophilic surface induces polar/electrostatic interaction resulting salt deposition on membrane surface. A simple on site cleaning procedure was demonstrated to be successful for the treatment PW for at least three consecutive cycles of membrane distillation (MD).