Surfactant membranes architecture and performance: Effect of HLB value and concentration of non-ionic surfactants

Abstract

This paper discusses a pioneering work on the effect of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values and non-ionic surfactant concentrations on the performance, architecture i.e. morphology and molecular orientation of polyethersulfone/polyether glycol (PES/PEG 600) for surfactant membrane. PES surfactant membranes were developed through phase inversion fabrication technique with the addition of non-ionic surfactants Triton X-100 (TX100) and Tween 20 (T20) into the polymer solution during formulation. The results of the experimental data conducted showed that 2 wt% increase in the concentration of non -ionic surfactants resulted increased in pure water permeated (PWP) flux and salt solution flux. T20 at 3 wt%, the surfactant membrane reached an highest PWP level of around 1200.67 L/m2 × h while showing an highest flux obtained at 31,692 L/m2 x h. Analysis of membrane structure construction from the morphological results of 3 wt% TX100 membrane having lower HLB value yielded highest rejection at 99.7% and became a booster to produce fine membrane structure, subsequently producing high performance surfactant membrane.