Premium
Effects of preparation conditions on the surface modification and performance of polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes
Author(s) -
MosquedaJimenez Daniella B.,
Narbaitz Roberto M.,
Matsuura Takeshi
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.22993
Subject(s) - membrane , contact angle , phase inversion , permeation , ultrafiltration (renal) , chemical engineering , polyvinylpyrrolidone , filtration (mathematics) , materials science , fouling , solvent , surface modification , polymer , copolymer , polymer chemistry , evaporation , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , chemistry , chromatography , composite material , organic chemistry , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
The impact that some membrane preparation steps had on ultrafiltration (UF) membrane characteristics and performance was studied. Polyethersulfone (PES) was employed as base polymer, while N ‐methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) was used as a solvent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as a nonsolvent pore‐forming additive. The manufacturing variables studied were solvent evaporation time and membrane surface modification, using a fluorine‐based copolymer referred to as surface‐modifying macromolecule (SMM). The flat sheet membranes, prepared via phase inversion, were characterized using solute transport data, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Membrane performance was evaluated via filtration test protocol that included a 6‐day filtration of concentrated river water. The flux reduction with time was modeled using single and dual mechanisms of fouling. The pore blockage/cake filtration model described better the behavior of the permeation rate along the experiments. Increasing the solvent evaporation time decreased the size of the pores and the permeation rate. However, it did not significantly affect the removal of the organic compounds naturally present in the river water used as feed. XPS and contact angle measurements proved that the short evaporation periods did not allow enough SMM migration to the surface to provoke a significant effect on the membrane performance. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006