A novel, green, and environmentally friendly PBS/nano-CaCO3 hybrid membrane

Abstract

Biodegradable membrane materials can be degraded into small molecules under natural conditions, which can effectively alleviate the environmental pollution caused by the waste of traditional organic membrane materials. In this work, biodegradable poly (butylene succinate) (PBS)/nano-CaCO3 hybrid membranes has been prepared via non-solvent induced phase separation method by blending environmentally friendly nano-CaCO3 particles with PBS. The incorporation of nano-CaCO3 particles into the membrane leads to a notable enhancement in mechanical strength, from 1.03±0.05 MPa to 1.42±0.13 MPa, resulting in a substantial increase of approximately 37 %. Additionally, the introduction of these particles also contributes to a reduction in contact angle, from 63° to 56°. Consequently, the issue of inadequate mechanical strength and limited hydrophilicity of PBS membrane is effectively addressed. Moreover, the pure water permeance of membrane increases from 8.5 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1 to 89.3 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1, and the permeability is greatly improved. The permeance recovery rate of the membrane increases from 78 % to 95 %, and the anti-fouling performance is improved. In addition, PBS can be degraded after the service of PBS/nano-CaCO3 hybrid membrane, and CaCO3 particles are environmentally friendly. Therefore, the PBS/nano-CaCO3 hybrid membrane hybrid membrane prepared in this study is a green and environmentally friendly membrane material.