Removal of heavy metal ions by porous sepiolite-based membrane

Natural clay sepiolite with high specific surface area and unique porous structure exhibits great potential for application in the fields of water treatment. However, the adsorption methods suffer from some drawbacks, such as the production of toxic sludge and secondary pollution. Electrospinning technology has been widely employed to fabricate porous composite fibres. Thus, the authors design a high-efficiency electrospun polyurethane/sepiolite membrane that can remove heavy metal ions from drinking water. This kind of sepiolite-based membrane not only exhibits high absorption capacity of Cr, Cd, As and Mn, but also offers several advantages such as minimising the risk of secondary pollution. Sepiolite-based membrane shows great potential for applications including urgent drinking-water treatment, field survival and disaster rescue.