136456 20260217205552.0 doi 10.1039/d4ew00326h sideral 139380 ART-2024-139380 eng Navarro-Tovar, Roberto Innovations in water desalination: enhancing air gap membrane distillation performance by the incorporation of clay nanoparticles into PVDF matrix membranes 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted This study showcases the remarkable permeate flux rates achieved in water desalination using phase-inversion polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes by the incorporation of clay nanoparticles within the polymer matrix, leading to a performance that surpasses that of commercial membranes. These findings hold promising implications for addressing water scarcity issues in various regions around the globe. The study focuses on membrane improvement by incorporating both montmorillonite (MT) and Cloisite 20A (organomontmorillonite, OMT). The permeate flux of the most effective OMT-enhanced membrane (with a 4 wt% loading) surpassed that of the commercial PVDF membrane by 12% and outperformed the pure PVDF membrane by 30% after a 24 hour testing period in air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), with rejection values exceeding 99.8%. Moreover, this membrane exhibited stability over 5 days of continuous testing, proving better performance than commercial PVDF membranes when exposed to a concentrated fouling humic acid solution. This fouling test experienced a 40% reduction in permeate flux compared to the 60% decline observed in the commercial PVDF membrane. These enhancements are attributed to increased surface porosity, higher liquid entry pressure, smaller mean pore size, and a uniform distribution of clay particles within the membrane matrix. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 3.2 2024 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 179 / 376 = 0.476 2024 Q2 T2 WATER RESOURCES 42 / 132 = 0.318 2024 Q2 T1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL 49 / 83 = 0.59 2024 Q3 T2 0.875 2024 Water Science and Technology 2024 Q1 Environmental Engineering 2024 Q1 6.3 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Gorgojo, Patricia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6905-714X Jobson, Megan Martin, Peter Perez-Page, Maria 5005 555 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb. Área Ingeniería Química 10 (2024), 2418-2431 Environ. sci., Water res. & technol. Environmental Science-Water Research & Technology 2053-1400 1798112 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/136456/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2676018 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/136456/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:136456 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:40:55 ARTICLE