Biomimetic Membrane Simulation for Water Desalination

Reverse Osmosis (RO) for the desalination of saline water is associated with tremendous energy costs and low efficiency. Improvements in nanotechnology have led to the development of a variety of nanoporous membranes for water purification. Biomimetic membrane is an emerging new technology for water purification. Consequently, there is still much to study about the function and structure of these kinds of membranes. The purpose of this work was to determine which factors influence membrane performance. The focus was on those factors affecting membranes in pure water. Biomimetic membrane using MoS₂ which has a higher rate of ion rejection and higher water permeability was studied through molecular dynamics simulations using reactive force fields (ReaxFF). The behaviour of the membrane before subjecting it to desalination was studied. The effect of water temperature, atmospheric pressure and membrane thickness on performance of membrane was studied. The permeability flux was calculated and compared in different conditions and the relation between these factors was revealed.