Rita Namoe Tabi

Affiliated projects: Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, RWESCK, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, KNUST

Affiliated CEA: International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering 2iE Burkina Faso

Supervisor: Sampson Oduro-Kwarteng, Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, RWESCK, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, KNUST,
sokwarteng@gmail.com

Co-supervisor: Frank Ofori Agyemang, Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, RWESCK, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, KNUST
foagyemang88@gmail.com

Other contributors to thesis supervision: Mihail Dumitru Barboiu, European Institute of Membranes
mihail-dumitru.barboiu@umontpellier.fr
Harouna Karambiri, International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering 2iE Burkina Faso ,
harouna.karambiri@2ie-edu.org
Patrick Boakye, Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, RWESCK, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, KNUST
pboakye3@gmail.com
Felix Kofi Abagale, West African Center for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA), University for Development Studies, Ghana.
fabagale@uds.edu.gh

Start date: 01/08/2021
Anticipated date of thesis defense: December 2024
ORCID profile : 0000-0001-9369-9751

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Project title: Removal of fluoride, nitrate, iron and manganese from groundwater using a biomimetic nanofiltration membrane.

Summary of scientific project:

Groundwater is the main source of water for communities without access to national water supply systems. However, many groundwater sources around the world have concentrations of fluoride, nitrate, iron and manganese in excess of guidelines. Consumption of these waters causes illnesses such as fluorosis, methemoglobinemia and neurotoxicity. Treatment is therefore necessary. Conventional methods such as adsorption and oxidation-coagulation-filtration are available. But these methods have disadvantages such as low water quality, large footprints and the need for highly qualified personnel. Membranes are a promising technology for overcoming these difficulties. However, there is a trade-off between selectivity and permeability. Artificial water channels, which mimic aquaporins, have been shown to help overcome this problem in reverse osmosis membranes. This research aims to use this concept to develop nanofiltration membranes by focusing on the removal of fluoride, nitrate, iron and manganese from groundwater and studying their propensity to foul.

Summary of results :

Interfacial polymerization was used to fabricate the membrane with the incorporation of artificial imidazole - quartet water channels. SEM, FTIR and contact angle measurements were used to assess the formation and incorporation of a nanofiltration membrane and water channels respectively. The contact angle decreases significantly, resulting in a 38% increase in water permeability. EDX, AFM and zeta potential analysis will be used to analyze the membranes for further evaluation. Four salts were used to study membrane selectivity by tangential filtration. Salt releases were 94.4%, 84.4%, 58.2% and 42.1% for sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride and calcium chloride respectively. The release of groundwater contaminants is currently under study.