Abstract
The mussel-inspired method has been investigated to modify commercial ultrafiltration membranes to induce antifouling characteristics. Such features are essential to improve the feasibility of using membrane processes in protein recovery from waste streams, wastewater treatment, and reuse. However, some issues still need to be clarified, such as the influence of membrane pore size and the polymer concentration used in modifying the solution. The aim of the present work is to study a one-step deposition of dopamine (DA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) on ultrafiltration membrane surfaces. The effects of different membrane molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO, 20, 30, and 50 kDa) and DA/PEI concentrations on membrane performance were assessed by surface characterization (FTIR, AFM, zeta potential, contact angle, protein adsorption) and permeation of protein solution. Results indicate that larger MWCO membranes (50 kDa) are most benefited by modification using DA and PEI. Moreover, PEI is primarily responsible for improving membrane performance in protein solution filtration. The membrane modified with 0.5:4.0 mg mL−1 (DA: PEI) presented a better performance in protein solution filtration, with only 15% of permeate flux drop after 2 h of filtration. The modified membrane can thus be potentially applied to the recovery of proteins from waste streams.
Highlights
Membrane separation processes (MSP) are widely applied in several industry sectors, whether directly on the production line, in the treatment of residual streams, or water recovery/treatment, for their low energy consumption, simplicity of operation, and high separation efficiency [1,2,3]
This study explored the impact of membrane pore size and concentration of dopamine and
This study explored the impact of membrane pore size and concentration of dopamine and polyethyleneimine (DA:PEI) solutions used to modify membrane surface and improve filtration polyethyleneimine (DA:PEI) solutions used to modify membrane surface and improve filtration performance, when treating wastewaters containing protein
Summary
Membrane separation processes (MSP) are widely applied in several industry sectors, whether directly on the production line, in the treatment of residual streams, or water recovery/treatment, for their low energy consumption, simplicity of operation, and high separation efficiency [1,2,3]. Large volumes of protein-rich waste streams are produced, especially in animal protein and dairy processing plants, and need treatment In this context, ultrafiltration (UF) is highlighted and commonly used as a suitable alternative to conventional methods for recovery and concentration of proteins from waste streams, and as a way to minimize water loss and up-cycle byproducts like. The fouling caused, promotes decline of the permeate flux and consequent reduction in the performance of the membranes, which have to be constantly cleaned, increasing process costs [10,11,12] In this sense, efforts are focused on methods to minimize fouling effects [13,14,15,16,17], and membrane surface modification (MSM) is currently considered the most favorable strategy [13,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
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