Fabrication of Polysulfone-Based Microfiltration Membranes and Their Performance Analysis

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2024, Vol.235 (1), p.75, Article 75
• Main Authors: Nur-E-Alam, Md, Deowan, Shamim Ahmed, Hossain, Esrafil, Hossain, Khandker Saadat, Miah, Muhammed Yusuf, Nurnabi, Mohammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Additives; Alginic acid; Analysis; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Contact angle; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental monitoring; Etching; Fabrication; Hydrogeology; Image enhancement; Membranes; Microfiltration; Performance evaluation; Phase separation; Polyethylene glycol; Polymers; Polyols; Polysulfone; Polysulfone resins; Porosity; Seaweed meal; Sintering (powder metallurgy); Sodium; Sodium alginate; Soil Science & Conservation; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Water Quality/Water Pollution
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-023-06872-x

Phase inversion process is a commonly employed technique in the fabrication of polymeric membranes for various industries, particularly in the context of wastewater treatment. This method is favored among several available methods, including sintering, stretching, and track-etching, for the production of polymeric membranes. In this study, composite microfiltration membranes were fabricated employing commercially available polysulfone (PSF) polymer-incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium alginate (SA) additives via non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method. Additives were incorporated in varying amounts, ranging from 0.5 to 10.0 wt.%. The introduction of these additives into the dope solution changed the structure and morphology of the resultant membranes. The FE-SEM images unveiled that the inclusion of additives enhanced the porosity of the composite membranes. The introduction of 5.0 wt.% PEG led to approximately 9.25% porosity of the PSF-PEG composite membrane, whereas the PSF-SA composite membrane with 5.0 wt.% SA exhibited a lower porosity around 3.21%. The contact angle measurement showed that membrane hydrophilicity increased up to addition of 5.0 wt.% PEG or SA. Beyond this percentage, the additional PEG or SA led to decrease in porosity. The assessment of membrane performance was conducted by evaluating the pure water flux under applied pressure. Notably, the membrane fabricated with 5.0 wt.% PEG displayed the highest pure water flux of 308 Lm −2  h −1 . This study revealed that low-cost commercial PSF, which is generally used for other purposes, can be used for membrane preparation incorporation PEG as an additive.