Hydrophilic Surface Modification of TFC Reverse Osmosis Membrane Using Blends of Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose and Chitosan

The present work showed a scalable protocol for anchoring hydrophilic layer over the polyamide using biodegradable polysaccharide solutions of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) and chitosan. CMC and chitosan were blended in different concentration ratios with and without an oxidative environment. The membrane treated with CMC: Chitosan blend demonstrated upto 153.97% and 240.47% increment in water permeance without and with oxidative environment respectively as compared to the virgin thin film composite reverse osmosis membrane. The modified membranes had shown considerable decline in contact angle from 48.37 degrees to 35.66 degrees, changes in surface roughness, morphology and chemical structural changes of the top surface.

Automated summary

This study presents a scalable method for anchoring a hydrophilic layer over polyamide using biodegradable CMC and chitosan. The modified membranes show significant improvements in water permeance and surface properties.