Abstract
This study deals with the modification of polyphenylsulfone ultrafiltration membranes by introduction of an incompatible polymer polysulfone to the polyphenylsulfone casting solution to improve the permeability. The correlation between properties of the blend polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone solutions and porous anisotropic membranes for ultrafiltration prepared from these solutions was revealed. The blend polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone solutions were investigated using a turbidity spectrum method, optical microscopy and measurements of dynamic viscosity and turbidity. The structure of the prepared blend flat sheet membranes was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Membrane separation performance was investigated in the process of ultrafiltration of human serum albumin buffered solutions. It was found that with the introduction of polysulfone to the polyphenylsulfone casting solution in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone the size of supramolecular particles significantly increases with the maximum at (40–60):(60:40) polyphenylsulfone:polysulfone blend ratio from 76 nm to 196–354 nm. It was shown that polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blend solutions, unlike the solutions of pristine polymers, are two-phase systems (emulsions) with the maximum droplet size and highest degree of polydispersity at polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blend ratios (30–60):(70–40). Pure water flux of the blend membranes passes through a maximum in the region of the most heterogeneous structure of the casting solution, which is associated with the imposition of a polymer-polymer phase separation on the non-solvent induced phase separation upon membrane preparation. The application of polyphenylsulfone/polysulfone blends as membrane-forming polymers and polyethylene glycol (Mn = 400 g·mol−1) as a pore-forming agent to the casting solutions yields the formation of ultrafiltration membranes with high membrane pure water flux (270 L·m−2·h−1 at 0.1MPa) and human serum albumin rejection of 85%.
Highlights
The application of membrane separation technology has progressed rapidly over the years with the introduction of advanced membranes designed from new materials [1,2]
This transfer yields the significant increase in the viscosity of 20 wt% solutions of PPSU, PSF, and their mixtures in NMP (Figure 2b)
This study is focused on the modification of PPSU membranes via introduction of the incompatible membrane forming polymer (PSF) to the casting solution to increase membrane performance in ultrafiltration
Summary
The application of membrane separation technology has progressed rapidly over the years with the introduction of advanced membranes designed from new materials [1,2]. Membrane separation is beneficial compared to other separation processes due to high selectivity and separation efficiency, no need for the use of additives or chemicals, reducing operating costs as well as minimizing the human health risks [3]. Conventional separation techniques, such as precipitation, crystallization, and centrifugation are known to suffer from poor selectivity of separation, whereas high-resolution techniques, such as chromatography and electrophoresis, are characterized by low yield of product at higher cost [4]. Ultrafiltration is a pressure-driven membrane process which requires the use of porous membranes. Ultrafiltration is known to demonstrate very high process performance and can be fine-tuned to provide high selectivity [5]
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