Preparation, enhancement of permeability, and anti-biofouling properties of PEES/nano-silver/PVP mixed-matrix membrane

Abstract

This study investigated the separation of bovine serum albumin using a novel matrix mixed membrane composed of poly vinyl pyrrolidone and poly (phenylene ether ether sulfone)/Nano-silver. The responsive bare and modified PEES/Nano-silver membranes were evaluated using morphology, wettability, XRD and ATR-FTIR. The molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), water content, mean pore radius, porosity, and pure water flux were used to evaluate the presentation of mixed matrix membranes. The outcomes show that the membranes wettability is increased by the addition of PVP, which promotes the formation of hydrogen bonds. Its clear that the membranes are more hydrophilic than the PEES/Nano-silver membrane based on their performance. In addition, model foulants such bovine serum albumin (BSA) and E. coli were used to assess the efficacy of mixed matrix membranes anti-fouling properties. PVP loading results in more diversified surface morphology with asymmetric structure and higher water flux (4.35 × 10−5 ms−1) than the pristine membrane (2.23 × 10−5 ms−1) as a reference at 3.5 bar without compromising the rejection of membrane. The flux recovery ratio for PEES/PVP/Nano-Silver membranes is 97%, which is significantly higher than the ratio for PEES/Nano-Silver membranes (62%). Furthermore, The results of fluorescence microscopy showed that, compared to clean membranes, the modified membranes have biofouling activities.