High flux and rejection with chiral chitosan composite nanofiltration membranes: Preparation and characterization

Two series of novel composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared by the overcoating of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes with a mixture of chitosan and chitosan derivatives modified with two different chiral compounds. The two chiral compounds and their chitosan derivatives were characterized by IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and polarimetry. The structure of the membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The rejection and flux of the composite NF membranes were strictly related to the chiral compound grafted to chitosan and its composition in the mixture. An extremely high rejection, 98.23%, was observed with P_2–3 of the polymer (P₂) composite NF membrane, and the flux remained as high as 351 L m^?2 h^?1 at 0.4 MPa with 1000 mg/L NaCl. These results, together with SEM and IR images of the composite NF membrane, indicated that the chiral compound structure was crucial for the structure and function of the composite membrane. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Positively charged hollow‐fiber composite nanofiltration membrane prepared by quaternization crosslinking

Poly(N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) can be crosslinked by interfacial polymerization to develop a positively charged dense network structure. According to this mechanism, a positively charged hollow‐fiber composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane was prepared by quaternization to achieve a crosslinked PDMAEMA gel layer on the outer surface of polysulfone hollow‐fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with a PDMAEMA aqueous solution as a coating solution and p‐xylylene dichloride as an agent. The preparation conditions, including the PDMAEMA concentration, content of additive in the coating solution, catalyzer, alkali, crosslinking temperature, and hollow‐fiber substrate membrane, were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the structure of the membranes. This membrane had a rejection to inorganic salts in aqueous solution. The rejection of MgSO₄ (2 g/L aqueous solution at 0.7 MPa and 25°C) was above 98%, and the flux was about 19.5 L m^?2 h^?1. Moreover, the composite NF membranes showed good stability in the water‐phase filtration process. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Preparation and characterization of a novel positively charged nanofiltration membrane based on polysulfone

The goal of this study was to prepare positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membranes to remove cations from aqueous solutions. A composite NF membrane was fabricated by the modification of a polysulfone ultrafiltration support. The active top layer was formed by the interfacial crosslinking polymerization of poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) with p‐xylene dichloride (XDC). Then, it was quaternized by methyl iodide (MI) to form a perpetually positively charged layer. The chemical and morphological changes of the membrane surfaces were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy. To optimize the membrane operation, the PEI solution concentration, PEI coating time, XDC concentration, crosslinking time, and MI concentration were optimized. Consequently, high water flux (5.4 L m^?2 h^?1 bar^?1) and CaCl₂ rejection (94%) values were obtained for the composite membranes at 4 bars and 30°C. The rejections of the NF membrane for different salt solutions, obtained from pH testing, followed the order Na₂SO₄ < MgSO₄ < NaCl < CaCl₂. The molecular weight cutoff was calculated by the retention of poly(ethylene glycol) solutions with different molecular weights, and finally, the stoke radius was calculated as 1.47 nm. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41988.     

High‐performance composite nanofiltration membranes fabricated via ternary mixture: Complementary preponderance of the fluorine‐containing monomer 2,2′‐bis(1‐hydroxyl‐1‐trifluoromethyl‐2,2,2‐triflutoethyl)‐4,4′‐methylene dianiline and the rigid monomer bisphenol F

In a previous study, we proved that tailoring the polyamide backbone stiffness is an effective way to fabricate high‐performance polyamide nanofiltration (NF) membranes. However, in the previous study, we mainly focused on the flat membrane and did not consider its chlorine tolerance. In this study, by regulating the aqueous‐phase compositions in the interfacial polymerization process, chlorine tolerance on NF hollow‐fiber membranes was endowed while the membrane performance stayed high. The experimental results show that when the ratio of Piperazine (PIP)–bisphenol F (BPF)/2,2′‐bis(1‐hydroxyl‐1‐trifluoromethyl‐2,2,2‐triflutoethyl)‐4,4′‐methylene dianiline (BHTTM) was 5:1:4, the NF membrane possessed a permeate flux of 21.0 L m^?2 h^?1 bar^?1 and an Na₂SO₄ rejection up to 90.0%. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis also confirmed that the polymerization degree of the PIP–BPF–BHTTM NF membrane was the highest. Moreover, the NF membrane could tolerate active chlorine to over 10,000 ppm h Cl. After the active chlorine treatment, the permeate flux increased over 30.0 L m^?2 h^?1 bar^?1, and the Na₂SO₄ rejection was about 90.0%. Although the PIP–BHTTM NF membrane also possessed good chlorine tolerance, its permeate flux (after active chlorine treatment) was only 60% of that of the PIP–BPF–BHTTM NF membrane. Therefore, the PIP–BPF–BHTTM NF membrane possessed a combination of high flux and high chlorine tolerance and showed good potential in water treatment in rigorous environments. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46482.     

Novel chitosan-piperazine composite nanofiltration membranes for the desalination of brackish water and seawater

A novel chitosan (CS)-piperazine (PIP) composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane with satisfied characteristics for brackish water and seawater desalination was successfully developed. PIP was mixed with CS during the interfacial polymerization (IP) process to enhance the NF membrane permeate flux. The resultant NF membranes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), contact angle. Effects of CS concentration, trimesoyl chloride (TMC) concentration, reaction time and the mixing ratio of CS/PIP on NF membrane performance were investigated thoroughly. When PIP in the aqueous phase monomers reached to 25% (w/w), the PWF (60.6 L·m^?2·h^?1) was synergistically improved by nearly 2 times without a significant reduction of Na₂SO₄ rejection (89.1%). Moreover, the NF membranes possessed excellent performance for the desalination of brackish water and seawater, which showed high potential to be applied in the desalination process for water treatment.     

Effects of polyethylene glycol on the structure and filtration performance of thin-film PA-Psf composite forward osmosis membranes

In forward osmosis, internal concentration polarization is related to the properties (e.g., hydrophilicity, porosity, structural resistant) of membrane support layer. In this work, polyethylene glycol with a low molecular weight of 400 Da was introduced as a support layer additive during the fabrication of thin-film polyamide-polysulfone composite forward osmosis membranes. The forward osmosis performances including water flux and reverse salt flux of the membranes were tested in the mode of AL-FS where the membrane active layer faced toward feed solution. Results showed that the addition of polyethylene glycol would reduce internal concentration polarization and improve membrane performance in forward osmosis by means of enhancing membrane hydrophilicity and changing pore morphologies of membrane support layer. The membrane prepared with 6 wt.% polyethylene glycol was found to exhibit the highest water flux of 47.4 Lm^?2h^?1 with a reverse salt flux of 7.6 gm^?2h^?1 when using DI water and 2.0 M NaCl as the feed and the draw solution, respectively, indicating an optimal polyethylene glycol dosage of 6 wt.% in this work.     

Preparation and characterization of a composite nanofiltration membrane interfacially polymerized from cis,cis‐1,3,5‐triaminocyclohexane and trimesoyl chloride

cis,cis‐1,3,5‐Triaminocyclohexane (TAC) was synthesized and used to prepare composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes by interfacial polymerization with trimesoyl chloride (TMC). The surface elemental composition, morphology, and hydrophilicity of the prepared NF membranes were characterized. The separation performances were examined with various salts and polyethylene glycol (PEG400, PEG600) solutions. The effects of preparation conditions were also systematically studied. The NF membrane was negatively charged and exhibited a salt rejection in the order Na₂SO₄ (98.2%) > MgSO₄ (90.8%) > MgCl₂ (84.5%) > NaCl (54.6%). The water permeability was 1.56 L m^?2 h^?1 bar^?1, and the molecular weight cutoff was 600 Da. The TAC/TMC membrane exhibited some characteristics that were different from the ones made from common diamines such as m‐phenylenediamine: (1) the surface was smoother, without a ridge‐and‐valley structure; (2) there were two kinds of crosslinking points in the polyamide chains; (3) the active layer was formed faster (only 5 seconds was required to reach a Na₂SO₄ rejection of 98%). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43511.     

Salt rejection in nanofiltration for single and binary salt mixtures in view of sulphate removal

Three commercial membranes (NF70, NF90 and TFC-SR) were firstly characterized in terms of pure water flux and the rejection of uncharged (alcohols and sugars) compounds. Subsequently, the rejection of monovalent (sodium and chloride) and divalent (calcium and sulphate) ions in single (NaCl, CaCl, and Na₂SO₄) and binary (NaCI/Na₂,SO₄ CaCl₂/CaSO₄, NaCI/CaCl₂, and Na₂SO₄/CaSO₄) salt mixtures was studied. According to the pure water permeability the TFC-SR membrane is a loosely packed NF membrane (12.3 L.m ⁻².h⁻¹.bar⁻¹), while both NF70 and NF90 are tightly packed (2.6 and 3.6 Lm⁻².h⁻¹.bar-). According to the uncharged solute rejection, the MWCO_NF70 = 60, MWCO_NF90= 200 and MWCO_TFC-SR > 500. NF70 and NF90 were equally efficient in rejecting 1-2, 1-1 and 2-1 salts (>90%), while TFC-SR showed typical negatively charged surface behaviour, i.e., R (1-2) salt > R (11) salt > R (2-1). Sulphate rejection decreased in the presence of sodium chloride more significantly than in the presence of calcium chloride due to the more efficient retention of the bivalent calcium.     

Role of silane grafting in the development of a superhydrophobic clay-alumina composite membrane for separation of water in oil emulsion

Hydrophobic composite kaolin-coated clay-alumina membranes are unique choices for water in oil emulsion separation. In this work, a membrane fabrication approach is presented using kaolin clay coating in the clay-alumina tubular composite support tube and subsequently grafting by different concentrations of fluoroalkyl silane (FAS: 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H, -Perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane) on the membrane surface. Different concentrations of fluoroalkyl silane formed distinctive hierarchical structures which exhibited hydrophobicity of the membrane surface. The pore property, surface roughness properties, and thermogravimetric properties can be suitably tailored by tuning the silane concentration in the grafting solution. The surfaces of comparatively higher silane content grafted (M50 and M100) composite membranes were found to be superhydrophobic. Comparably, our optimal composite membrane (M100) displayed a moderate steady flux rate of 80-100LMH (Lm^?2h ^?1) and excellent water rejection (>99%) properties during the separation of water in hexane and toluene emulsion at a cross-flow transmembrane pressure of 1 bar. The role of silane concentration on permeated hexane and toluene flux rate, water rejection rate, surface wettability, microstructure, and hydrophobic stability reveals new distinguishing insights into the hydrophobic clay-alumina composite membrane fabrication.     

Codeposition of catechol–polyethyleneimine followed by interfacial polymerization for nanofiltration membranes with enhanced stability

Thin‐film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes were fabricated via the codeposition of catechol (CCh) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) followed by subsequent interfacial polymerization with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the surface of polysulfone ultrafiltration substrates. The detailed structures and surface properties were characterized by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, ζ potential analysis, and water contact angle measurement. The surface properties, including the roughness, hydrophilicity, surface potential, and NF performances, were facilely tuned through variation of the codeposition time of CCh–PEI for the prepared TFC membranes. The optimized membrane achieved a high rejection (ca. 93%) of MgCl₂ with a flux of around 31 L m^?2 h^?1 under 0.7 MPa. The results also reveal that the codeposition process endowed the final membranes with much better structural stability in alcohol and improved chlorine resistance compared to commonly interfacial polymerized ones with PEI and TMC. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45422.     

Taurine as an additive for improving the fouling resistance of nanofiltration composite membranes

A hydrophilic compound, taurine, was investigated as an additive in the interfacial polymerization between piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) to prepare thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes. The resulting membranes were characterized by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology and hydrophilicity of the membranes were investigated through scanning electronic microscopy and water contact angle measurements. The separation performance of the TFC membranes was investigated through water flux and salt rejection tests. The protein‐fouling resistance of the films was evaluated by water recovery rate measurements after the treatment of bovine serum albumin. The membrane containing 0.2 wt % taurine showed the best performance of 92% MgSO₄ rejection at a flux of 31 L m^?2 h^?1 and better antifouling properties than the PIP–TMC membranes. An appropriately low concentration of taurine showed the same MgSO₄ rejection as the PIP–TMC membranes but a better fouling resistance performance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41620.     

Preparation and characterization of carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyamide composite nanofiltration membranes with improved performance

Polyamide thin‐film composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared via the interfacial polymerization (IP) process of piperazine and 1,3,5‐trimesoyl chloride on the polysulfone/nonwoven fabric ultrafiltration membrane surface. Carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (cMWNTs) were incorporated into the aqueous phase during the IP process to improve the membrane performance. The composition and morphology of the membrane surface were examined by means of attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometry, and atomic force microscopy. The effects of the cMWNTs content on the membrane hydrophilicity, separation performance, and antifouling properties were characterized through water contact angle and crossflow filtration measurements. The experimental results show that membrane surface hydrophilicity, water permeability, salt rejection (R ), and antifouling properties all improved. In particular, when the cMWNTs content was 50 ppm, the magnesium sulfate R of the composite NF membrane reached a maximum value of 98.5%; meanwhile, the membrane obtained an obviously enhanced water flux (62.1 L m^?2 h^?1 at 0.7 MPa), which was two times larger than that of the original NF membrane. The modified NF membranes showed enhanced antifouling properties; this was mainly attributed to changes in the microstructures and surface features of the polyamide layer after the addition of the cMWNTs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45268.     

Separation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) using γ‐Al2O3–clay composite ultrafiltration membrane

BACKGROUND: Ceramic membranes have received more attention than polymeric membranes for the separation and purification of bio‐products owing to their superior chemical, mechanical and thermal properties. Commercially available ceramic membranes are too expensive. This could be overcome by fabricating membranes using low‐cost raw materials. The aim of this work is to fabricate a low‐cost γ‐Al₂O₃–clay composite membrane and evaluate its potential for the separation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a function of pH, feed concentration and applied pressure. To achieve this, the membrane support is prepared using low‐cost clay mixtures instead of very expensive alumina, zirconia and titania materials. The cost of the membrane can be further reduced by preparing a γ‐alumina surface layer on the clay support using boehmite sol synthesized from inexpensive aluminium chloride instead of expensive aluminium alkoxide using a dip‐coating technique. RESULTS: The pore size distribution of the γ‐Al₂O₃‐clay composite membrane varied from 5.4–13.6 nm. The membrane was prepared using stable boehmite sol of narrow particle size distribution and mean particle size 30.9 nm. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the surface of the γ‐Al₂O₃–clay composite membrane is defect‐free. The pure water permeability of the support and the composite membrane were found to be 4.838 × 10^?6 and 2.357 × 10^?7 m³ m^?2 s^?1 kPa^?1, respectively. The maximum rejection of BSA protein was found to be 95%. It was observed that the separation performance of the membrane in terms of flux and rejection strongly depends on the electrostatic interaction between the protein and charged membrane. CONCLUSION: The successively prepared γ‐Al₂O₃‐clay composite membrane proved to possess good potential for the separation of BSA with high yield and could be employed as a low cost alternate to expensive ceramic membranes. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Studies on Cellulose Acetate/Low Cyclic Dimmer Polysulfone Blend Ultrafiltration Membranes and their Applications

Abstract

Flat sheet ultrafiltration membranes from cellulose acetate (CA)/low cyclic dimer polysulfone (LCD PSf) were prepared by a phase inversion method. N, N′‐Dimethyl formamide and different molecular weight of polyethylene glycol (PEG 200, PEG 400, and PEG 600) were used as solvent and pore‐forming additive, respectively. The membranes were characterized in terms of pure water flux, water content, porosity, membrane hydraulic resistance, and morphology. The pure water flux was found to reach the highest value of 181.82 Lm^?2h^?1 at 5 wt.% PEG of 600 molecular weight and 10 wt.% LCD PSf content in the blended solution for membrane preparation. SEM micrographs indicated that the addition of PEG into the CA/LCD PSf solution changes the inner structure of the membrane. The influence of filtration time and applied pressure on membrane permeability was examined by copper/polyethylenimine complex rejection studies. With increase in filtration time, the rejection of the copper/polyethylenimine complex decreased and the results were discussed.     

Charged membranes prepared by SPEEK of very low degree of sulfonation

Novel charged membranes were prepared with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK). Methylsulfonic acid was used as solvent to accommodate the very low degree of sulfonation of the SPEEK. Membranes were prepared by immersion phase inversion method, using coagulation baths of different composition and temperature. Low molecular weight and negatively charged dye molecules were used as model solutes to test the nanofiltration (NF) performance of the membranes. Higher than 93% rejection of the two dye molecules, Rose Bengal and Reactive Brilliant Red, was observed at normal operating temperature. A permeate flux as high as 497 L m^?2 h^?1 and higher than 90% of solute rejection at 80°C was achieved in the NF of Reactive Brilliant Red aqueous solution, in contrast to a flux of 226 L m^?2 h^?1 and about 78% of solute rejection at the same temperature in the case of Rose Bengal solute. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Influence of metal salts in reaction medium on performance enhancement of novel aliphatic–aromatic-based polyamide thin-film composite osmosis membranes

In this study, we report an easy and novel way to develop high flux aliphatic–aromatic-based thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide osmosis membranes by addition of inorganic metal salts with amine reactants in the reaction system of polyethylene imine (PEI) and 1,3-benzene dicarbonyl chloride. Inorganic metal salts like CuSO₄, NiSO₄, MgSO₄, and Al₂(SO₄)₃ added to block some of the amine groups of PEI through complexation which in turn changes the polycondensation reaction kinetics of amine acid chloride reaction. The prepared membranes were characterized using water contact angle and atomic force microscopy studies and the performances were evaluated both in reverse osmosis and forward osmosis mode. In presence of metal salts in reaction interface, the performance of TFC membranes was greatly enhanced and the optimum metal salt concentration was identified for individual metal salts for maximum performance enhancement. The effects of different anions for same metal ion and different molecular weight of PEI were evaluated on composite polyamide membrane performances. Water permeability (flux) of 63.48 L m^?2 h^?1 was achieved upon inorganic salt addition compared to the unmodified TFC membranes with flux of 42.1 L m^?2 h^?1 at similar salt rejection of ~95%. Based on the new findings, a conceptual model was proposed to explain the role of metal ion in amine solution on the resulting characteristics of aromatic–aliphatic type polyamide–polysulfone composite membrane.     

Catalytic template assisted interfacial polymerization for high-performance acid-resistant membrane preparation

Highly permeable acid-resistant nanofiltration (NF) membranes are of critical significance for the efficient treatment of acidic streams. Enhancing permeability while maintaining the high solute rejection of acid-resistant NF membranes remains a great challenge due to the low reactivity of monomers. In this work, a novel catalytic template assisted interfacial polymerization (IP) strategy of 3-aminobenzenesulfonamide (ABSA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) was provided to prepare a poly(amide-sulfonamide) membrane. Aminopyridine doped graphene quantum dots rich in acylation catalytic sites and ZIF-8 nanoparticles are co-loaded on a substrate as template. Benefiting from the enhanced phase integrity and self-inhibition effect of the template assisted IP process, the resulting ultra-thin acid-resistant membrane exhibits an excellent water permeance (20.4 Lm⁻²h⁻¹bar⁻¹) with a high Na₂SO₄ rejection of 90.5%, which outperforms almost all the reported acid-resistant NF membranes. Our work paves a versatile way for synthesis of special separation membranes.     

High‐performance PDMS membranes for pervaporative removal of VOCs from water: The role of alkyl grafting

To improve the pervaporation performance of PDMS membrane, alkyl groups with different chain length were grafted into PDMS matrix. The prepared membranes were characterized by ATR‐IR, DSC, TGA, PALS, and tensile testing. The effects of alkyl grafting on pervaporation performance of PDMS membrane were investigated in separation of ethyl acetate/water mixture. Experimental results show that the separation factor of PDMS membrane is largely improved by alkyl grafting because of the enhanced preferential sorption of ethyl acetate, and this improvement depends on alkyl grafting ratio and alkyl chain length. The total flux of PDMS membrane reduces after alkyl grafting owing to the decreased free volume. When grafting ratio is above 6.9%, membrane grafted with shorter alkyl groups is preferred for pervaporation. The best pervaporation performance is achieved by 9% octyl grafted PDMS membranes with a separation factor of 592 and a total flux of 188 gm^?2 h^?1 in separation of 1% ethyl acetate/water mixture at 40 °C. Moreover, this octyl grafted PDMS membrane also exhibits excellent separation performance in removal of butyl acetate, methyl‐tert‐butyl ether, and n‐butanol from water. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43700.     

Preparation and characterization of high‐selectivity hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane by two‐way coating technique

A novel coating technique, named as two‐way coating (TWC), was explored to prepare hollow fiber composite (HFC) nanofiltration (NF) membrane through interfacial polymerization from piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the lumen side of hollow fiber polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane with an effective membrane area of 0.4 m². The optimum preparation conditions were systematically investigated and obtained as follows: PIP 0.023 mol/L, TMC 0.0057 mol/L, air blowing rate 2.7 m/s for 30 min after aqueous coating, aqueous coating pressure 0.1 MPa, organic solution flowing rate 0.32 m/s, and heat treating time 3 min. The resultant HFC membrane showed a high selectivity of divalent ion and monovalent ion. Salt rejections of MgSO₄ and NaCl were 98.13 and 18.6% with the permeate flux of 32.6 and 40.2 L m^?2 h^?1 at 0.7 MPa, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images indicated that composite membrane prepared by TWC technique had a uniform active layer from the upper end to the bottom of the hollow fiber. And the salt rejection and permeate flux showed almost no difference between different membrane sections. Stability results suggested that good reproducibility could be obtained by TWC technique for the preparation of high‐performance HFC NF membrane. The resultant NF membrane showed a high removal rate of chemical oxygen demand and chroma of landfill leachate which were approximately 100%. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41187.     

Effect of cellulose triacetate membrane thickness on forward‐osmosis performance and application for spent electroless nickel plating baths

Cellulose triacetate (CTA) forward‐osmosis (FO) membranes were prepared via the phase inversion method. The influence of thickness on the performance and morphology of CTA FO membranes was discussed in detail. When the thickness of the membrane was 50.0 ± 0.5 μm (CTA4), the prototype CTA membranes displayed a water flux of 20.2 L m^?2 h^?1 and a reverse salt transport of 14.6 g m^?2 h^?1 using 1 mol/L NaCl as the draw solution and deionized water as the feed solution during the FO process at 25 °C. In addition, the high‐performance CTA4 FO membranes have been used to process spent electroless nickel plating baths where the water flux could reach 13 L m^?2 h^?1 and NiSO₄·6H₂O crystals occurred in the feed solution of the spent electroless nickel plating baths. The recovery rates of NiSO₄·6H₂O and water from the spent electroless nickel plating baths were 44.54% and 53.53%, respectively. This study focused on improving membrane design for the FO process and finding a new method of waste liquor or wastewater treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45049.