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Urea is widely used in fertilizer production for agricultural purposes, posing a risk of runoff into soil and water sources. The accumulation of urea can lead to eutrophication and toxic algal blooms, which can harm wildlife and humans through environmental disruption. Removing urea from water has proven challenging due to its small size (0.254 nm) and uncharged surface. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) represent a cutting-edge class of adsorbents known for their remarkable porous structure and functional group tunability. This study introduced adsorptive membranes that combined the capabilities of MOFs as potent adsorbents with membrane separation for enhanced urea removal, encompassing both rejection and adsorption mechanisms. The MIL-100 (Fe), an iron-based MOF, was synthesized and subsequently grafted onto the surface of a polyamide (PA) thin-film composite (TFC) membrane. The MIL-100 (Fe)-functionalized membranes significantly improved urea removal from 34% (bare TFC) to an impressive 85% (MIL-100 (Fe) functionalized). This achievement was accompanied by a substantial increase in water permeability (from 1 to 4.5 LMH/bar), all while maintaining the membranes' salt rejection capability. A comprehensive assessment encompassing five regeneration cycles underscored the membrane regenerability as its permeability remained stable, with only a minor ∼6% decrease in urea removal efficiency.
Le et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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