Hydraulic Resistance and Protein Fouling Resistance of a Zirconia Membrane with a Tethered PVP Layer

Yian Chen,Francesc Giralt,Montserrat Rovira-Bru,Yoram Cohen

doi:10.3390/w13070951

Yian Chen, Francesc Giralt + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/w13070951

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Abstract

The influence of surface modification of zirconia (ZrO2) membrane with tethered poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) chains was evaluated with respect to the impact of pH and ionic strength on hydraulic resistance and fouling resistance in the filtration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (Lys) as model protein foulants. The tethered PVP surface layer led to membrane permeability and fouling propensity that were responsive to both pH and ionic strength. The PVP-modified membrane (PVP-ZrO2) hydraulic resistance increased by up to ~48% over a pH range of 6–11, but with no discernible impact at lower pH. Membrane hydraulic resistance was virtually unaffected by ionic strength over the 0.001–1 M range. However, reversible foulant cake resistance in BSA and Lys solution filtration increased with elevated ionic strength, owing in part to the weakening of protein–protein repulsion. Irreversible BSA and Lys fouling was affected by the operational pH relative to the protein isoelectric point (IEP) and reduced under conditions of chain swelling. Irreversible membrane fouling resistance for both proteins was significantly lower, by ~11–49% and 18–74%, respectively, for the PVP-ZrO2 membrane relative to the unmodified ZrO2 membrane. The present results suggest the merit of further exploration of fouling reduction and improvement of membrane cleaning effectiveness via tuning pH and ionic strength triggered conformational responsiveness of the tethered target polymer layer.

Highlights

The utilization of ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes has been increasingly promoted in various water treatment applications given their mechanical, thermal, and chemical stability [1,2]
The present results suggest the merit of further exploration of fouling reduction and improvement of membrane cleaning effectiveness via tuning pH and ionic strength triggered conformational responsiveness of the tethered target polymer layer
The impact of a tethered poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) surface layer on the hydraulic resistance of ultrafiltration zirconia (ZrO2 ) membrane was evaluated over pH and ionic strength ranges of 4–11 and

Summary

Introduction

The utilization of ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes has been increasingly promoted in various water treatment applications given their mechanical, thermal, and chemical stability [1,2]. Ceramic membranes can be produced from various materials (e.g., alumina, zirconia, titania, silica and zeolite [3]) with a narrow but well-defined pore size distribution. The porosity of such membranes can be higher, for a given molecular weight cutoff (MWCO), relative to commercially available polymeric membranes [3]. As is the case with polymeric membranes [8], fouling, which can degrade membrane performance, remains an operational challenge in the applications of ceramic membranes [9]

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