Abstract
In this study, flat sheet asymmetric polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) ultrafiltration membranes with enhanced antifouling properties were prepared with a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method through compound additives containing a polymeric pore-forming agent, a small molecular non-solvent and a surfactant. The formation processes of the porous asymmetric membranes with different kinds of additives were studied in detail, and the microstructure controllable preparation of membrane was achieved by establishing a bridge between the membrane preparation parameters and separation performances. All prepared membranes were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), contact angle analysis, porosity, maximum pore size, water and BSA solution permeability studies. The performance efficiency of the membrane was evaluated by using BSA as a model foulant in terms of permeability, solute rejection (R), Rm (membrane inherent resistance), Rc (cake layer resistance), and Rp (pore plugging resistance). The results showed that when the compound additives were used, the inter-connected pores were observed, maximum pore size, contact angle and membrane filtration resistance decreased, while the porosity increased. When PVP compound additives were added, the water flux increased from 80.4 to 148.1 L/(m2·h), the BSA rejection increased from 53.2% to 81.5%. A similar trend was observed for membranes with added PEG compound additives; the water flux and BSA rejection simultaneously increased. The filtration resistance decreased as a result of compound additives. The uniformity of membrane and the number of effective pores could be enhanced by adding compound additives through the cooperation of different additives.
Highlights
Membrane technology is widely applied in water treatment and has received more attention since it is an outstanding process for the removal of salts, particles, turbidity and organic matter from ground water, industrial and municipal wastewater [1,2,3,4]
Membrane fouling is a serious problem in the case of protein separation because hydrophobic protein molecules deposit on the membrane surface or plug membrane pores, which tends to suffer a severe decrease in pure water flux during operation [8]
The surface and cross-section morphologies of PPSU membranes were observed by scanning electron microscope (JEOL, JSM-7401F, Tokyo, Japan) using an acceleration voltage of 3.0 kV
Summary
Membrane technology is widely applied in water treatment and has received more attention since it is an outstanding process for the removal of salts, particles, turbidity and organic matter from ground water, industrial and municipal wastewater [1,2,3,4]. Hwang et al [13] found that PPSU/PEI blend membranes possessed a weak negative charge and exhibited good resistance to the negatively charged humic acid due to the effect of electro-static repulsion Surface roughness is another factor that influences the protein fouling process. The relatively high roughness can improve the membrane surface turbulence degree, which prevents the protein molecules from forming cake layer. These two factors result in the effect of roughness on protein fouling on membrane surface.
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