Abstract

Background: Attempts to modify the morphology of membrane for application in industrial separation are being undertaken by many researchers. The present study discusses the morphological modification of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane by combining the hydrophilic surfactant Pluronic F127 (PF127) in a polymer solution to improve the performance of the membrane. Method: The membrane is formed using the non-solvent induced-phase separation (NIPS) method. PF127 is added to the membrane solution as a membrane modifying agent. The effects of the surfactant concentration in the dope solution on the permeability of pure water, solute rejection, hydrophilic characteristics, and membrane morphology are investigated. Results: Higher concentrations of PF127 had a significant effect on the permeability of pure water. The highest membrane permeation was 45.65 l/m 2.hr.atm with the addition of 7% PF127 additive. Conclusion: PF127 is successfully proposed as a membrane pore-forming agent in this work; the blending of this additive in appropriate amounts in the polymer solution is adequate to improve the performance of the PVC membrane.

Highlights

  • Nowadays, separation of contaminant elements from drinking water using membrane technology is developing rapidly

  • The formation of a membrane structure fabricated using the wet inversion technique happens during coagulation, in which the Dimethyl acetate (DMAc) solvent is leached out of the matrix of the dope solution and water as a non-solvent diffuses into the membrane

  • The fabrication of Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with Pluronic F127 (PF127) as an additive has been performed in this work

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Summary

Introduction

Separation of contaminant elements from drinking water using membrane technology is developing rapidly. Membrane separation technology has been adopted in many industries, owing to its numerous advantages compared with other common methods. One of the most widely applicable membrane separation technologies in industry is the use of a group of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, for the process of water purification[1,2]. The most common method is improving the hydrophilicity of the membrane material to minimize the attachment of foulant molecules[5,6]. The present study discusses the morphological modification of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane by combining the hydrophilic surfactant Pluronic F127 (PF127) in a polymer solution to improve the performance of the membrane. The effects of the surfactant concentration in the dope solution on the permeability of pure water, solute rejection, hydrophilic characteristics, and membrane morphology are investigated. The highest membrane permeation was 45.65 l/m2.hr.atm with the addition of 7% PF127 additive

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