Optimization of PSF Membrane Transport Properties with the Use of Porogenic Additive

Abstract

The porous membrane works upon sieving mechanism, where the separation and transport properties are dependent upon membrane morphology and porosity. This porosity and pore size are dependent upon membrane materials and formation parameters. Polysulfone (PSF) is one of the widely used membrane material due to its stability properties. Current work is targeted towards optimization of PSF based membranes by varying dope solution concentration and composition with the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG (MW6000)) as porogen in dope solution to enhance the transport rate and selectivity. An increase in PEG rejection with linear decrease in water flux and pore size was observed with the increase in dope solution concentration. Uniform membranes formation without any abnormal pore-size is observed from transport properties. The use of PEG as porogen leads to increased porosity due to leaching of Porogen during the phase inversion, which resulted in enhanced transport rate (85%). Further the formed membranes maintained pore size as seen from bubble point, rejection and pore size analysis. This resulted in maintenance of selectivity. Such increased transport with high selectivity is highly essential when applicability of membranes in industrial processes like process separation and waste treatment are considered. This would lead to large industrial benefits.