Degradation of secondary polyamide reverse osmosis membrane by hypochlorite in the presence of calcium ions. (November 2020) - Hashiba, Koki
Highlights: Ca 2+ accelerated degradation of a polyamide reverse osmosis membrane by NaOCl. The acceleration of degradation by Ca 2+ was greater under alkaline conditions. Ca 2+ did not enhance chlorination of the active layer. Ca 2+ accelerated hydrolysis of the polyamide structure in the active layer. Cleavage of CN bonds was accelerated only for the N -chlorinated amide structure. Abstract: Certain metal ions accelerate deterioration of secondary polyamide reverse osmosis membranes during hypochlorite treatment. However, the mechanisms underlying this metal ion–mediated membrane deterioration have not been clarified. Here, we examined the deterioration of a secondary polyamide reverse osmosis membrane during hypochlorite treatment at various pHs by Ca 2+, one of the most abundant ions in surface water. In the presence of Ca 2+, accelerated membrane deterioration was observed after chlorination and hydrolysis treatment. In addition, the greater membrane deterioration was observed under neutral and alkaline conditions than under acidic conditions, suggesting that Ca 2+ might accelerate hydrolysis rather than chlorination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the Cl atomic concentration in the active layer was increased by hypochlorite treatment; however, the presence of Ca 2+ did not enhance chlorination of the membrane. In addition, measurement of the water contact angle of the active layer of membranes treated by hypochlorite in the presence of Ca 2+ showed a significant increase of wettability. Together, these results provided the evidence that Ca 2+ increased hydrolysis rather than chlorination. Solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the membranes after hypochlorite treatment showed a signal attributed to the -C*-NH2 of phenylenediamine structures in the active layer, the intensity of which was increased in the presence of Ca 2+, indicating that the presence of Ca 2+ in hypochlorite treatment resulted in increased hydrolysis of the polyamide structure. In addition, evolved gas analysis–mass spectrometry analysis provided further evidence supporting the production of ions with an m/z of 108, which corresponds to phenylenediamine. Together, the present results showed that deterioration of polyamide membrane by hypochlorite is increased in the presence of Ca 2+ via acceleration of hydrolysis but not of chlorination. Based on these findings, we proposed a mechanism for the accelerated degradation of polyamide membrane by Ca 2+ .