Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NJ_2023_PAUL-MITRA

Development of graphene oxide quantum dot immobilized multifunctional super hydrophilic membranes for the removal of diverse contaminants: from gasoline to PFAS

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $5,000

Principal Investigators: Sumona Paul, Somenath Mitra

Project Summary: The objective of this proposal is to develop nanofiltration membranes that can remove a wide range of contaminants, including gasoline and PFAS, both of which are significant concerns due to their detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Oil contamination has the potential to harm aquatic life and contaminate drinking water sources. PFAS, on the other hand, are man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and can accumulate in tissue, leading to various adverse health effects. Conventional water treatment processes, such as sedimentation, adsorption, and filtration, are often insufficient for removing these contaminants, while advanced treatments such as activated carbon adsorption and reverse osmosis can be costly and energy intensive. Nanofiltration uses membranes with pore sizes between 0.005-0.02 μm and is typically used to remove particles has the potential to be a more effective and cost-efficient method for removing organic contaminants (such as oil and PFAS) provided the membranes are appropriately surface modified. This proposal aims to develop multifunctional, super-hydrophilic nanofiltration membranes that are immobilized with graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQ) to separate a variety of organics including oils and PFASs from water. Super hydrophilicity will allow water to permeate while rejecting the organics. The graphene oxide quantum dots will be functionalized (f-GOQs), to enhance their hydrophilicity, allowing them to effectively remove both oil-water emulsions and PFAS from water. Diverse types of GOQs, including functionalized forms, will be used to develop membranes with different surface properties, enabling them to remove various contaminants. These GOQ immobilized membranes will be highly selective and can be implemented on both small (e.g., domestic systems) and large scales.