Protein Rejection Research Articles

Fouling-resistant membranes with zwitterion-containing ultra-thin hydrogel selective layers

Zwitterions are neutrally charged molecules with an equal number of cationic and anionic groups. Their exceptional fouling resistance makes them excellent membrane materials. This study focuses on thin-film composite (TFC) ultrafiltration membranes where the selective layers consist of zwitterion-containing hydrogels. To synthesize these membranes with ultra-thin hydrogel selective layers we used a novel method, Interfacially Initiated Free Radical Polymerization (IIFRP). While previous studies focused on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based selective layers, we aimed to determine the effect of incorporating two zwitterionic monomers, sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), on permeability, selectivity, and fouling resistance. Compared to a PEG-based hydrogel selective layer, all zwitterion-containing hydrogel selective layers showed increased water permeance (12.2 ± 1.8 L/m2 h bar for SBMA, 7.3 ± 1.8 L/m2 h bar for MPC). Interestingly, this permeance increase was not accompanied by a major decrease in protein rejection despite the zwitterion-containing hydrogels having lower chemical cross-link densities, with myoglobin rejections staying >90%. This was likely due to physical cross-links between zwitterionic moieties. For the same total monomer concentration, higher zwitterion concentrations led to a permeance increase of almost an order of magnitude along with only minimal decrease in protein rejection. Moreover, all hydrogel selective layer TFC membranes tested exhibited excellent oil fouling resistance.

Enhancement of antifouling properties, metal ions and protein separation of poly(ether-ether-sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes by incorporation of poly ethylene glycol and n-ZnO

Composite polymeric membranes with enhanced anti-fouling properties, antimicrobial activities and flux were produced via the phase inversion technique using poly (ether-ether-sulfone) (PEES)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) and n-ZnO. SEM and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy were used to study the morphological and chemical properties of the resulting ultrafiltration membranes. PEG and n-ZnO concentration has an effect on membrane morphologies, ultrafiltration performance, thermal characteristics, metal ion separation studies, surface hydrophilicity and anti-fouling capabilities. The permeate flux increased when the PEG concentration was raised. This results revealed that adding PEG and n-ZnO to membranes increased their surface hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties. The inclusion of 1.5 wt % n-ZnO and 5 wt % PEG to the pristine PEES membrane resulted in a higher flux of 233.76 L m-2 h−1, 70.09 % of water content, 47.46° of contact angle, the porosity of 30.20 %, and hydraulic resistance of 0.22 kPa/Lm−2h−1. Anti-fouling properties of the fabricated membrane were assessed using a model foulant BSA, which revealed a high flux recovery ratio value. As a result, the PEG and n-ZnO incorporated membrane is more hydrophilic than the virgin membrane. In addition, the prepared PEES/PEG/n-ZnO membrane showed a significant increase in metal ions and protein rejection. Furthermore, an antibacterial test of the membrane revealed that the PEG and n-ZnO composite membrane outperformed the bare PEES membrane in terms of antibacterial capabilities. Overall, the findings reveal that combining n-ZnO and PEG resulted in a membrane with improved anti-fouling capabilities and hydrophilicity, making it suitable for water purification.

Tailoring Morphology and Properties of Tight Utrafiltration Membranes by Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide for Performance Improvement.

To enhance the permeation and separation performance of the polyethersulfone (PES) tight ultrafiltration (TUF) membrane, two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) was applied as a modifier in low concentrations. The influence of different concentrations of MoS2 (0, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 1.50 wt%) on TUF membranes was investigated in terms of morphology, mechanical strength properties, permeation, and separation. The results indicate that the blending of MoS2 tailored the microstructure of the membrane and enhanced the mechanical strength property. Moreover, by embedding an appropriate amount of MoS2 into the membrane, the PES/MoS2 membranes showed improvement in permeation and without the sacrifice of the rejection of bovine serum protein (BSA) and humic acid (HA). Compared with the pristine membrane, the modified membrane embedded with 0.5 wt% MoS2 showed a 36.08% increase in the pure water flux, and >99.6% rejections of BSA and HA. This study reveals that two-dimensional MoS2 can be used as an effective additive to improve the performance and properties of TUF membranes for water treatment.

CrosslinkedPMIAultrafiltration membrane with enhanced permeability via incorporatingTMCmonomer

AbstractA trade‐off behavior is noteworthy between protein rejection and pure water flux (PWF) for ultrafiltration membranes; it is recommendable to increase flux without reducing selectivity. The poly (meta‐phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) ultrafiltration membrane was modified via incorporating 1,3,5‐benzene tricarboxylic chloride (TMC) to optimize the performance for the first time. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was applied to probe the mechanism of the effects of the concentrations of cosolvent LiCl and addition TMC on the dissolving process. It was turned out that a suitable concentration of TMC in the dope solution markedly enhanced the PWF (from 276.22 to 566.20 m−2 h−1 bar−1) with an increasing bovine serum albumin rejection (from 92.05% to 94.64%). Besides, the optimized membrane also possesses excellent anti‐fouling and mechanical performance. These improvements can be due to the crosslinking between PMIA and TMC and enlarged average pore diameter. This work broadens the application of PMIA and TMC in ultrafiltration and provides a novel methodology for PMIA modification.

Polysulfone hollow fiber membrane containing charcoal‑carbon nanomaterial for wastewater treatment in membrane bioreactor

In this research, charcoal‑carbon nanomaterial (charcoal-CNM) with sheet-like structure and high hydrophilicity was used to modify polysulfone (PSf)-based hollow fiber (HF) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane performance. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as pore-former. Phase inversion method was employed for membrane preparation. The HF membranes were spun in three different CNM contents via dry/wet method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), tensile strength (TS), and water contact angle (WCA) analyses were used to characterize the fabricated membranes. Performance of the prepared HF membranes in a pre-conditioned bioreactor was also investigated. Compared to the neat membrane, increased porosity and mean pore size, reduced surface roughness and improved surface hydrophilicity were obtained for the nanocomposite membrane fabricated with 0.5 wt% of charcoal-CNM as the optimized membrane. The results demonstrated the positive effect of the charcoal-CNM with sheet-like structure and high hydrophilicity on the membrane surface properties and performance in the bioreactor. For the optimized membrane, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and protein rejection were achieved as 95.8 % and 94.3 %, respectively. Also, pure water flux (PWF) of the optimized membrane were achieved as 196.3 LMH.

Polyurethane antifouling coatings with various antifouling strategies in the side chain

Marine fouling is a major barrier to the further development of the marine industry. As science and technology progress, the antifouling coating is still difficult to exhibit feasible and effective strategies against multiple fouling organisms by simple modification. This study reports a polyurethane coating consisting of quaternary ammonium and zwitterions via modifying the imidazole on the side chain, where the former exhibits fouling-degrading performance to kill the bacteria sufficiently, and the latter relies mainly on the formation of the hydrated barrier that could present superior rejection of protein and algae due to the fouling-resistant property. By controlling the number of different antifouling groups in the side chain, the antifouling strategies can be adjusted to deal with marine pollution in different environments. The modified coating could expose hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups on the surface, which produce micro/nano structures underwater. The comprehensive antifouling properties of the coating makes it have a promising future in marine antifouling.

Amidoxime functionalized PVDF-based chelating membranes enable synchronous elimination of heavy metals and organic contaminants from wastewater.

Aiming at the synchronous elimination of heavy metals and organic contaminants from wastewater, the amidoxime functionalized PVDF-based chelating membrane was fabricated in this study. The structure and morphology of the chelating membrane were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM results show that the chemical modification with amidoxime groups did not damage the structure of the PVDF-based membrane. The chelating membrane has a high removal efficiency for Cu2+ (77.33%) and Pb2+ (79.23%) owing to the chemisorption through coordination bonds. However, the chelating membrane exhibits a low removal efficiency for Cd2+ (29.88%) due to the physical adsorption. The chelating membrane has a high rejection efficiency of BSA (95.17%) and lysozyme (70.09%), which is attributed to the sieving effect and increased hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the membrane performance for simultaneously removing metals and proteins from simulated wastewater was examined. The interaction of metal ions with proteins (BSA and lysozyme) can enhance the ion removal efficiency of the chelated membrane, but decrease the protein rejection efficiency due to the destructive effect. The amidoxime functionalized PVDF-based chelating membrane has a high potential for application in wastewater treatment.

Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoflake (SNF)-Blended Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane

The aim of this research was to study the possibility of using silver nanoflakes (SNFs) as an antibacterial agent in polysulfone (PSF) membranes. SNFs at different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt.%) were added to a PSF membrane dope solution. To investigate the effect of SNFs on membrane performance and properties, the water contact angle, protein separation, average pore size and molecular weight cutoffs were measured, and water flux and antibacterial tests were conducted. The antimicrobial activities of the SNFs were investigated using Escherichia coli taken from river water. The results showed that PSF membranes blended with 0.1 wt.% SNFs have contact angles of 55°, which is less than that of the pristine PSF membrane (81°), exhibiting the highest pure water flux. Molecular weight cutoff values of the blended membranes indicated that the presence of SNFs does not lead to enlargement of the membrane pore size. The rejection of protein (egg albumin) was improved with the addition of 0.1 wt.% SNFs. The SNFs showed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, where the killing rate was dependent on the SNF concentration in the membranes. The identified bacterial colonies that appeared on the membranes decreased with increasing SNF concentration. PSF membranes blended with SNF, to a great degree, possess quality performance across several indicators, showing great potential to be employed as water filtration membranes.

Effect of Sericin Additive on Cellulose Acetate Membrane Morphology and Protein Rejection

Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes are synthesized for filtration purpose. The hydrophilic sericin macromolecule is blended with CA to analyze the enhancement of protein rejection. Increase in hydrophilicity, water permeation and protein rejection was studied by using contact angle, pure water flux (PWF) and Bovine serum albumin (BSA) permeation respectively. Surface modification was examined using SEM and AFM. The results show the homogenous blending of sericin in CA matrix and effective fabrication of membranes. In order to gauge the efficiency of casted membranes in protein filtration and separation, water flux and protein rejection were studied. The concentration of sericine protein was altered in CA polymeric solution that imparts variable properties to fabricated membrane samples. Increment in wt% of sericine up to 7.5 in polymer dope solution, enhances BSA rejection to the limit of 96%. The amino linkages between sericine and the BSA of feed resulted in the holding of protein by sericine, which leads to low permeation of BSA via CA-Sericine membrane M4.

Application of g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposites for fabrication of anti-fouling polymer membranes with dye and protein rejection superiority

Polysulfone (PSf) membranes are privileged for water and wastewater treatment, but because of their hydrophobic nature, they suffer from fouling, which lowers their performance and lifetime. In this work, g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/ZnO nanomaterials were synthesized via a hydrothermal method to modify the PSf membrane for effective dye separation and reduction of organic fouling. Since g-C3N4/ZnO possesses –OH and –NH reactive groups, g-C3N4/ZnO/PSf membrane revealed higher porosity, hydrophilicity, negative surface charge, and lower contact angle. The results of filtration analysis also showed a higher performance for nanomembranes with respect to the neat PSf. Permeability and fouling resistance of neat PSf membrane were well below those of nanocomposite membranes, such that by incorporation of 0.5 wt% g-C3N4/ZnO nanocomposite in PSf they significantly improved to 85.93 L/m2 h bar and 90%, respectively. The rejection rate was also increased for both types of dyes used in this study (99.9% for Reactive green 19 and 85.5% for Reactive Yellow 160). The outcome of this research would suggest the application of graphitic nitride nanomaterials for developing highly efficient polymer membranes.

Intensified recovery of whey proteins using combination of enzyme in free or immobilized form with ultrafiltration

Recovery of proteins from whey using ultrafiltration offers significant drawback in terms of membrane fouling, which also results in increased cost of operation. The current study focuses on developing intensified process of whey protein recovery by crosslinking the protein with the help of transglutaminase enzyme that can aid in reducing the fouling. Protein was crosslinked with the help of free transglutaminase (TG) enzyme and the parameters such as enzyme concentration, temperature and reaction time used during the crosslinking were optimized. For effective application and reusage of enzyme, enzyme was encapsulated on calcium alginate beads and the whey processed by these beads was further utilized for ultrafiltration. The operational strategy indeed resulted in relatively less fouling and better protein recovery. It was demonstrated that fouling reduced to a minimum of 9% and protein rejection increased to a highest of 85% from only 69% in control sets. It was also noticeable that cake resistance decreased after enzyme treatment when encapsulated in calcium alginate beads, also elucidating the effective reuse of the crosslinked enzyme. Overall, the work has clearly demonstrated the improvements in the whey processing leading to better ultrafiltration efficacy in terms of fouling reduction and improvement in protein rejection.

Doubly modified MWCNTs embedded in polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membrane and its anti-fouling performance

Abstract Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are often used to modify polymer membranes as additives, however, MWCNTs are easy to agglomerate and entangle in polymer matrix due to their own strong van der Waals force. MWCNTs were doubly modified by bonding octadecylamine (ODA) and SiO2 through the respective amidation and esterification reactions to prepare SiO2-MWCNT-ODA nanocomposites. The amino groups on ODA were amidated with the carboxyl groups on MWCNT-COOH. Then the hydroxyl groups on SiO2 were bonded to MWCNT-COOH through esterification to obtain SiO2-MWCNT-ODA nanocomposites. PES/SiO2-MWCNT-ODA composite ultrafiltration (UF) membrane was prepared by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. SiO2-MWCNT-ODA nanocomposites and PES/SiO2-MWCNT-ODA membrane were characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM, etc. The results showed that PES/SiO2-MWCNT-ODA membrane had significantly improved permeability, rejection, and antifouling properties for comparison with PES membrane. The pure water flux of PES/Nano.2-0.5 reached 212.5 L m−2 h−1, which was approximately 2.6 times than that of PES membrane, and the rejection of BSA protein for composite membrane was as high as 94.2%. PES/SiO2-MWCNT-ODA composite membrane had excellent antifouling performance and the flux recovery rate (FRR) of PES/Nano.2-0.5 membrane could still maintain at higher value of 84.82% after two cycles in the antifouling test.

Biorefinery of Tomato Leaves by Integrated Extraction and Membrane Processes to Obtain Fractions That Enhance Induced Resistance against Pseudomonas syringae Infection.

Tomato leaves have been shown to contain significant amounts of important metabolites involved in protection against abiotic and biotic stress and/or possessing important therapeutic properties. In this work, a systematic study was carried out to evaluate the potential of a sustainable process for the fractionation of major biomolecules from tomato leaves, by combining aqueous extraction and membrane processes. The extraction parameters (temperature, pH, and liquid/solid ratio (L/S)) were optimized to obtain high amounts of biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, biophenols). Subsequently, the aqueous extract was processed by membrane processes, using 30–50 kDa and 1–5 kDa membranes for the first and second stage, respectively. The permeate from the first stage, which was used to remove proteins from the aqueous extract, was further fractionated in the second stage, where the appropriate membrane material was also selected. Of all the membranes tested in the first stage, regenerated cellulose membranes (RC) showed the best performance in terms of higher rejection of proteins (85%) and lower fouling index (less than 15% compared to 80% of the other membranes tested), indicating that they are suitable for fractionation of proteins from biophenols and carbohydrates. In the second stage, the best results were obtained by using polyethersulfone (PES) membranes with an NMWCO of 5 kDa, since the greatest difference between the rejection coefficients of carbohydrates and phenolic compounds was obtained. In vivo bioactivity tests confirmed that fractions obtained with PES 5 kDa membranes were able to induce plant defense against P. syringae.

Application of dextran to manipulate formation mechanism, morphology, and performance of ultrafiltration membranes

In this study, dextran polysaccharide was used as a hydrophilic non-solvent additive at different molecular weights and concentrations to prepare novel flat sheet PES membranes through non-solvent induced phase separation process. Formation mechanisms of the PES membranes were assessed thermodynamically and kinetically to verify the influence of dextran polysaccharide on evolving porous media. The obtained results revealed that, in the presence of dextran, the thermodynamic instability of the dope solutions could be remarkably enhanced, leading to a rapid instantaneous demixing during the phase inversion process. Morphologically, the long channel-like macrovoids of the sublayer were also transformed to a disordered structure and concave shapes were emerged on the membrane surface at high concentrations of dextran polysaccharide. Based on the obtained results, not only significant enhancements were achieved in membrane fluxes, but also BSA protein rejections and antifouling properties were improved by increasing the dextran concentration at either molecular weight. Accordingly, the experimental results indicated that the dextran polysaccharide could be employed in practice to achieve scalable high-quality UF membranes through simple NIPS method.

Influence of pollutant concentration on the separation efficiency of chelating membranes for removing simultaneously metal ions and proteins from simulated industrial wastewater

AbstractBACKGROUNDA novel chelating membrane was fabricated for removing simultaneously metal ions (Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cu2+) and proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme) from simulated industrial effluent. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of pollutant concentration on the separation efficiency of the chelating membrane for pollutants.RESULTS(i) The removal of metal ions mainly relies on the adsorption capacity of the chelating membrane, and seems to be independent of the concentration of protein. (ii) The retention of proteins depends mainly on their concentration in solution. (iii) When the wastewater contains high concentration of metal ions (C = 100 mg L−1) and low concentration of proteins (C = 10 mg L−1), the chelating membrane exhibits overall poor separation performance, with a low ion removal efficiency (55–70%) and a low protein rejection rate (ca 60%). (iv) When the wastewater contains low concentration of metal ions (C = 10 mg L−1) and high concentration of proteins (C = 100 mg L−1), the chelating membrane exhibits overall excellent separation performance, with ion removal rates of higher than 90% (except for Cd2+) and protein rejection rates of higher than 90%.CONCLUSIONSThe separation efficiency of the chelating membrane for metallic and organic pollutants greatly depends on the pollutant concentration in the wastewater. This study provides a theoretical basis for membrane technology for removing simultaneously heavy metals and organic pollutants in wastewater. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Fabrication of ZnO/y-FeOOH nanoparticles embedded on the polyethylene terephthalate membrane: Evaluation of antifouling behavior and COD removal.

Nanofiltration contributes to the development of advanced treatment of wastewater. An antifouling mixed matrix recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) membrane modified by the hydrophilic ZnO/y-FeOOH nanoparticles (NPs) was fabricated via the electrospinning method. The effect of ZnO/y-FeOOH NPS embedded in rPET as a modifier on the fabrication of nanocomposite membranes was investigated regarding water flux, membrane morphology, permeability, fouling resistance, and COD removal. The surface morphology of the rPET-ZnO/y-FeOOH membrane was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), water contact angle (WCA), and porosity and pore structure.Due to the embedding of NPs, the resulting rPET-ZnO/y-FeOOH membrane, with a low WCA of 53.404° angle, conforms significantly improved hydrophilicity and water permeation flux. The FESEM image displayed the distribution of cuboidal and needle-like ZnO and FeOOH NPs on the rPET membrane. The performance of the nanofiltration system related to the removal efficiency of COD was studied. It was deduced that the rPET-ZnO/y-FeOOH membrane had a superior COD removal capability (95.7%) at a pressure of 2 bar. Protein rejection tests were performed on antifouling behavior. The nanocomposite membrane with a high antifouling capability was related to 0.5 wt·% ZnO/y-FeOOH NPs (flux recovery ratio [FRR] = 96.2%, Rr = 90.21%, and Rir = 3.001%). The modification procedure in this study (as a great improving technique) was proposed to fabricate the antifouling nanofiltration membrane.

Application of Cyclized Polyacrylonitrile for Ultrafiltration Membrane Fouling Mitigation.

In this study, novel composites were produced by blending partially cyclized polyacrylonitrile (cPAN) and poly(amide-imide) (PAI) in N-methylpyrrolidone in order to fabricate asymmetric membranes via phase inversion method. The compatibility of PAI and cPAN through possible intermolecular interaction was examined by quantum chemical calculations. The composite membranes were characterized by FTIR, SEM, contact angle measurements, etc. A considerable reduction in the contact angles of water and ethylene glycol (EG) was observed after adding cPAN to the PAI membrane, which is evidence of improved membrane hydrophilicity. Membrane transport properties were investigated in ultrafiltration tests by measuring the pure water flux, rejection of proteins, and flux recovery ratio (FRR). The best properties were found for the membrane containing 5 wt% cPAN; an increase in BSA rejection and a remarkable increase in FRR were observed, which can be explained by the hydrophilization of the membrane surface provided by the presence of cPAN.

3D Natural Mesoporous Biosilica-Embedded Polysulfone Made Ultrafiltration Membranes for Application in Separation Technology.

Diatoms are the most abundant photosynthetic microalgae found in all aquatic habitats. In the extant study, the spent biomass (after lipid extraction) of the centric marine diatom Thalassiosira lundiana CSIRCSMCRI 001 was subjected to acid digestion for the extraction of micro composite inorganic biosilica. Then, the resulting three-dimensional mesoporous biosilica material (diatomite) was used as a filler in polysulfone (PSF) membrane preparation by phase inversion. The fabricated PSF/diatomite composite membranes were characterized by SEM-EDX, TGA, and ATR-IR, and their performances were evaluated. The number of pores and pore size were increased on the membrane surface with increased diatomite in the composite membranes as compared to the control. The diatomite composite membranes had high hydrophilicity and thermal stability, lower surface roughness, and excellent water permeability. Membranes with high % diatomite, i.e., PSF/Dia0.5, had a maximum water flux of 806.8 LMH (Liter/m2/h) at 20 psi operating pressure. High-diatomite content membranes also exhibited the highest rejection of BSA protein (98.5%) and rhodamine 6G (94.8%). Similarly, in biomedical rejection tests, the PSF/Dia0.5 membrane exhibited a maximum rejection of ampicillin (75.84%) and neomycin (85.88%) at 20 Psi pressure. In conclusion, the mesoporous inorganic biosilica material was extracted from spent biomass of diatom and successfully used in filtration techniques. The results of this study could enhance the application of natural biogenic porous silica materials in wastewater treatment for water recycling.

Synthesis of ceramic tubular membrane from low‐cost clay precursors for blood purification application as substitute of commercial dialysis membrane

AbstractBackgroundThere has been a surge of interest in the preparation of membranes for clinical applications, chiefly for hemodialysis and hemofiltration. Despite numerous benefits, the exploitation of polymeric materials for dialysis membrane preparation remains unsatisfactory due to lack of proper physicochemical properties and biocompatibility. Therefore, this work focuses on the preparation of a ceramic membrane in a tubular configuration using an extrusion method and a clay material mixture. The biocompatibility of the membrane as well as its structural properties were studied.ResultsThe porosity, permeability and pore size of the membrane were 39 ± 0.88%, 203 ± 0.51 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and 304 ± 1.20 nm, respectively. The corrosion tolerance of the membrane was found to be better in acidic, alkaline and chlorine solutions. The protein adsorption, hemolysis and platelet adhesion were 2.1 ± 0.03 μg cm−2, 1.02 ± 0.01% and 6856 ± 84 platelets mm−2, respectively. The membrane demonstrated a prolonged blood coagulation time (PT = 18 ± 0.33 s and APTT = 70 ± 0.57 s), a 171 ± 0.57 s whole blood clotting time and complement activation of 805 ± 1.3 mg L−1 for C3 and 247.3 ± 0.98 mg L−1 for C4. During synthetic blood filtration, the membrane had sieving coefficients of 0.98 ± 0.005, 0.97 ± 0.008 and 0.93 ± 0.005 for creatinine, urea and phosphate, respectively. Finally, the membrane revealed a protein rejection of about 56 ± 0.57%.ConclusionsThe overall findings indicated that the prepared tubular membrane with excellent biocompatibility and uremic toxin removal can be used for hemofiltration application as an alternative to hemodialysis. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

MXene (Ti3C2Tx)/Cellulose Acetate Mixed-Matrix Membrane Enhances Fouling Resistance and Rejection in the Crossflow Filtration Process

Obstacles in the membrane-based separation field are mainly related to membrane fouling. This study involved the synthesis and utilization of covalently crosslinked MXene/cellulose acetate mixed matrix membranes with MXene at different concentrations (CCAM-0% to CCAM-12%) for water purification applications. The membranes’ water flux, dye, and protein rejection performances were compared using dead-end (DE) and crossflow (CF) filtration. The fabricated membranes, especially CCAM-10%, exhibited high hydrophilicity, good surface roughness, significantly high water flux, high water uptake, and high porosity. A significantly higher flux was observed in CF filtration relative to DE filtration. Moreover, in CF filtration, the CCAM-10% membrane exhibited 96.60% and 99.49% rejection of methyl green (MG) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), respectively, while maintaining a flux recovery ratio of 67.30% and an irreversible fouling ratio at (Rir) of 32.70, indicating good antifouling performance. Hence, this study suggests that covalent modification of cellulose acetate membranes with MXene significantly improves the performance and fouling resistance of membranes for water filtration in CF mode relative to DE mode.