Abstract
In this work, a flat-sheet blend membrane was fabricated by a traditional phase inversion method, using the polymer blends poly phenyl sulfone (PPSU) and polyether sulfone (PES) for the ultrafiltration (UF) application. It was hypothesized that adding PES to the PPSU polymer blend would improve the properties of the PPSU membrane. The effect of the PES concentration on the blend membrane properties was investigated extensively. The characteristics of PPSU-PES blend membranes were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measure, and contaminant (dye) elimination efficiency. This study showed that PES clearly affected the structural formation of the blended membranes. A considerable increase in the average roughness (about 93%) was observed with the addition of 4% PES, with a higher mean pore size accompanied by a rise in the pores’ density on the surface of the membrane. The addition of up to 4% PES had a significant influence on the hydrophilic character of the PPSU-PES membrane, by lowering the value of the contact angle (CA) (i.e., to 56.9°). The performance of the PPSU-PES composite membranes’ UF performance was systematically investigated, and the membrane pure water permeability (PWP) was enhanced by 25% with the addition of 4% PES. The best separation removal factor achieved in the current investigation for dye (Drupel Black NT) was 96.62% for a PPSU-PES (16:4 wt./wt.%) membrane with a 50% feed dye concentration.
Highlights
Ultrafiltration (UF) is an effective, low-pressure filtration technique for water treatment, especially to remove turbidity
The polymer blends were synthesized by changing the poly phenyl sulfone (PPSU) and polyether sulfone (PES) concentrations from 20% to 16% and from 0% to 4% respectively, via a phase inversion method, and studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of the blend composition on the membrane permeation flux and morphology, taking into consideration maintaining the rate of the dye rejection high
As can be seen from the figure, there is a considerable effect of the PES on the top surface of the PPSU-PES membranes
Summary
Ultrafiltration (UF) is an effective, low-pressure filtration technique for water treatment, especially to remove turbidity (e.g., suspended solids, bacteria, colloidal matter, and proteins). PPSU, membrane fabrication confirms that a key drawback was a lack of mechanical stability, which is crucial for separation efficiency and lifespan To overcome this problem, in this study, we blended the polymer PPSU with polyether sulfone (PES) because of its beneficial properties: high performance, excellent mechanical intensity, a wide range of pore sizes, and good flexibility. The polymer blends were synthesized by changing the PPSU and PES concentrations from 20% to 16% and from 0% to 4% respectively (total polymers blend concentration was kept constant at 20%), via a phase inversion method, and studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of the blend composition on the membrane permeation flux and morphology, taking into consideration maintaining the rate of the dye rejection high
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