A Review of the Performance of Nanofiltration Membranes Modified with Inorganic, Carbon Nanomaterials and their Combinations

Nowadays, membranes are widely used in various industries due to their advantages such as high removal efficiency and the ease of operation. However, membrane clogging is an important limiting factor in this process which is related to the hydrophobicity of membrane materials. Although reverse osmosis and nanofiltration processes were used to purify water, the use of nanofiltration is more cost-effective as the nanofiltration process is conducted at a lower pressure and plays a major role in water treatment and desalination. Recently, many researches has reported the improvements in the ability of nanofiltration process to reject salts, dyes, and heavy metals and also to reduce the clogging of nanofiltration membranes. Membrane clogging is the largest and most challenging barrier to membrane processes, greatly reducing membrane performance and membrane life, and increasing operating cost. In this review article, different methods of nanofiltration membrane modification using nano-minerals, carbon as well as mineral / carbon composite materials has been investigated in order to improve the performance of nanofiltration membranes.