Preparation and application of gradient long-effective catalytic membrane with high-strength and anti-deposition property

Our entry proposes the preparation and application of gradient long-effective catalytic membrane with high-strength and anti-deposition property, which can be effectively applied in effective treatment of organic wastewater.

With the rapid development of industrialization and modernization, the discharge of organic wastewater is increasing, making the re-utilization of sewage resources important for promoting sustainable development. Therefore, treating organic wastewater in a green and efficient way has become increasingly crucial. Due to its complex composition, high toxicity, and refractory, organic wastewater poses a huge threat to the ecological environment and human health. Therefore, upgrading the treatment process for organic wastewater, and improving the treatment efficiency are of great practical significance for promoting sustainable improvement of the ecology and building harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

In the current technology of organic wastewater treatment, Fenton oxidation is widely used due to its mild reaction conditions, high removal efficiency, wide applicability, and strong ability. Among them, nanometal oxides are the most widely used catalysts, with advantages such as low cost, environmental friendliness, and strong activity. However, the problems of easy aggregation and fast deactivation limit their industrial applications, so they need to be loaded onto porous membranes to improve the dispersion and stability. However, traditional fabrication methods failed to control the pore structure, size and distribution of the membrane, and the multi-step preparation would destroy the membrane`s structure and properties and strongly affect its catalytic activity, stability and mechanical strength. As a result, how to simplify the preparation steps of catalytic membranes and develop a gradient catalytic membrane combining high reaction and mass transfer efficiency with high stability is currently an unsolved problem.

Considering these points, our entry focuses on the organic wastewater treatment industry, using a key technology of ultra-low temperature cryogenic auxiliary electrospinning to synthesize a gradient long-effective catalytic membrane with high-strength and anti-deposition in one step, which has both high stability and high catalytic performance. Compared with the traditional membrane, our entry effectively solves the key technical problems in the field of catalytic membranes in wastewater treatment, including complicated preparation steps, low mechanical strength, difficult membrane structure regulation, and the contradiction between stability and catalytic efficiency. Our entry achieves a breakthrough in the preparation technology of nano catalytic membranes, and is supported by a number of key government research projects. Our entry has won several awards including gold award of the 7th China International Invention and Innovation Exhibition, the Most transformational Value award in 2023 in Guangdong, the silver award of the  Belt & Road and BRICS Skills Development & Technology Innovation Competition. Our entry owns core patent and has been granted a series of related international patents, forming a thorough patent protection network that is conducive to the promotion and application of our entry. In practical application, the cost of our entry can be reduced by 60.52%, the efficiency of organic wastewater treatment can be improved by 30%, and the degradation rate of pollutants can reach 95% in 3 minutes. The overall efficiency of organic wastewater treatment has been improved by 95%. Therefore, our entry is highly scientific, feasible, and marketable, and the technology process is simple, highly reproducible, and easy to promote and apply on a large scale. It provides technical support for achieving efficient, green, and safe wastewater treatment processes with low energy consumption and resource conservation, and has great potential in the field of sewage treatment with enormous social and economic value.

Specifically, our entry achieves the synthesis of highly effective catalytic membrane in one step through ultra-low temperature cryogenic auxiliary electrospinning technology, which not only simplifies the preparation process and reduces costs, but also preserves the physicochemical properties of the catalytic membrane, making its structure easy to adjust and effectively improving the applicability of the membrane. Compared with traditional membrane, our entry avoids the damage to the catalytic membrane structure caused by complex preparation processes, effectively improving the catalytic activity of the catalytic membrane. In addition, our entry improves the bonding strength between nanometal oxides and supports, greatly reducing the leaching of nanometal oxides as well as enhancing the stability and reusability of catalytic membranes, and is of great significance in reducing the cost of treatment for organic wastewater. As a result, it can effectively solve the problems of difficulties in recovery and regeneration, high cost, and high risk of secondary pollution of other catalysts. At the same time, our entry significantly enhances reaction mass transfer through confinement effect, freeze-thaw effect, synergistic effect and multiscale effect, improving the contact efficiency between active components and reactants, thereby improving wastewater treatment efficiency. In summary, our entry promotes the upgrading of organic wastewater treatment technology and the sustainable development of industry, and thereby realizes the recycling of wastewater, helps to ensure the safety of water environment, to alleviate water resource shortages, and contributes to the goal of carbon neutrality.