Functionalised membranes remove and recover dissolved heavy metals

Abstract

The use of microfiltration membrane-based sorbents, containing multiple functional group is a novel way of achieving high metal sorption under convective flow conditions. This article looks at research carried out at the University of Kentucky which led to the development of a new class of polyamino acid functionalised membranes that are able to capture dissolved metals from aqueous streams by sorption onto exchange sites which have been chemically attached to membrane pores convectively. The work also shows that a variety of membrane materials — cellulose, silica and cellulose acetate — can be used for heavy metal sorption at capacities as high as 1.9 g/g (5 mg/cm2 membrane).