Pilot-scale fabrication of nanofiltration membranes and spiral-wound modules

Few studies have reported on the detail of the mass production process of nanofiltration (NF) membranes and modules due to technical confidentiality. This work presents a procedure of fabrication of NF membranes and modules on the pilot scale. Thin film composite (TFC) NF flat-sheet membranes of 300 mm width were continuously fabricated via custom-designed equipment. The fabrication parameters and their effects on NF performance were systematically investigated. The optimized conditions parameters were achieved for excellent NF modules’ performance. The modules show over 75 L m⁻² h⁻¹ flux at 6 bar and over 95% MgSO₄ rejection. This study may provide insightful guidelines for the scale-up of NF membranes for water treatment and other applications.