Abstract
Membrane fouling induced by the adsorption of organic matter, and adhesion and propagation of bacteria onto the surfaces, is the major obstacle for the wide application of membrane technology. In this work, the capsaicin-based copolymer (PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin) was synthesized via radical copolymerization using methyl methacrylate (MMA), N-acrylomorpholine (ACMO) and 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide (capsaicin) as monomers. Subsequently, the capsaicin-based copolymer was readily blended with PVDF to fabricate PVDF/PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin flat sheet membrane via immersed phase inversion method. The effects of copolymer concentration on the structure and performance of resultant membranes were evaluated systematically. With increase of PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin copolymer concentration in the casting solution, the sponge-like layer at the membrane cross-section transfers to macroviod, and the pore size and porosity of membranes increase remarkably. The adsorbed bovine serum albumin protein (BSA) amounts to PVDF/PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin membranes decrease significantly because of the enhanced surface hydrophilicty. During the cycle filtration of pure water and BSA solution, the prepared PVDF/PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin membranes have a higher flux recovery ratio (FFR) and lower irreversible membrane fouling ratio (Rir), as compared with pristine PVDF membrane. PVDF/PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin membrane is found to suppress the growth and propagation of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, achieving an anti-bacterial efficiency of 88.5%. These results confirm that the anti-fouling and anti-bacterial properties of PVDF membrane are enhanced obviously by blending with the PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin copolymer.
Highlights
Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane is broadly utilized in municipal drinking water purification, wastewater treatment and food processing, owing to the excellent mechanical strength, chemical and thermal stability [1,2]
The capsaicin-based copolymer (PMMA-PACMO-Capsaicin) was synthesized via radical copolymerization, and the chemical structure was investigated via 1H-NMR measurement
The gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis shows that the molecular weight (Mw ) is 52,160 g/mol, and the polydispersity index (PDI) is 3.65
Summary
Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane is broadly utilized in municipal drinking water purification, wastewater treatment and food processing, owing to the excellent mechanical strength, chemical and thermal stability [1,2]. The ultrafiltration PVDF membrane has been accepted as an advanced toolbox to effectively remove the organic matters (such as proteins, humic materials, polysaccharide and bacteria) in the wastewater steam [3,4,5]. Because the PVDF membrane is inherently hydrophobic, the organic matters in the wastewater are adsorbed onto the membrane surface via chemical or physical interaction, resulting in the occurrence of membrane fouling. Once bacteria are permanently adhered to the surface, they can rapidly secrete organic compounds (proteins and polysaccharide, etc.), and develop into a mature biofilm via the bacteria proliferation [6,7]. A separation membrane with excellent fouling resistance is able to suppress the adsorption of organic compounds and bacteria, and to prevent bacteria growth and propagation
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