A Comparison of Commercial and Experimental Ultrafiltration Membranes via Surface Property Analysis and Fouling Tests

Surface modified polyethersulfone (PES) membranes via the addition of different hydrophiLic Surface Modifying Macromolecules (LSMMs) have been developed by Matsuura, Narbaitz and co-workers. This study compares the performance of the best PES-LSMM membrane with nine commercial ultrafiltration membranes manufactured using five different types of base polymers (polyethersulfone, polysulfone, celluloseacetate, polyacrylonitrile and cellulose) in the same range of molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) (from 40 to 120 kDal). All membranes were characterized by using atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, solute transport analysis and then evaluated through fouling tests with Ottawa River water (ORW). While PES-LSMM membranes had much lower initial flux than the commercial membranes, they had the highest total organic carbon (TOC) rejection (80%) and the lowest flux reduction (62%). For the commercial membranes, the range of TOC rejections and flux reductions were 62 to 80% and 68 to 80%, respectively. Given their high TOC rejection and relatively high foulant deposition, fouling of the PES-LSMM membranes appears to be controlled by a surface gel.