Research Article pubs.acs.org/journal/ascecg
Graphene Oxide Membranes in Extreme Operating Environments: Concentration of Kraft Black Liquor by Lignin Retention Fereshteh Rashidi,† Nikita S. Kevlich,†,‡ Scott A. Sinquefield,‡ Meisha L. Shofner,‡,§ and Sankar Nair*,†,‡
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School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 311 Ferst Dr NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0100, United States ‡ Renewable Bioproducts Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 500 10th Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States § School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 771 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0245, United States S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: We report a detailed study of graphene oxide (GO) membranes for concentration of Kraft black liquor (BL), which is a caustic (pH ∼ 12), hot (80−95 °C), and highvolume (∼500 gal/min in a typical pulp mill) byproduct of the papermaking process. Membrane-based concentration of BL is attractive as an energy-efficient alternative to thermally driven evaporation processes but challenging due to the harsh operating conditions and high fouling potential of BL (15− 18 wt % solids). We fabricate thin (
