Effects of solubility parameter differences among PEG, PVP and CA on the preparation of ultrafiltration membranes: Impacts of solvents and additives on morphology, permeability and fouling performances

The effects of two different hydrophilic additives and two solvents on the membrane morphological structure, permeability property and anti-fouling performances of cellulose acetate (CA) ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. During the phase-inversion process, cellulose acetate was selected as a membrane forming polymer; polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) were used as additives; acetone (Ac): N, N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) were used as solvents; and deionized (DI) water was used in the coagulation bath. All the prepared membranes were characterized in terms of hydraulic permeability (Pm), membrane resistance, average pore radius, and hydrophilicity. The top surface and cross-sectional view of the prepared membranes were also observed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Membrane fouling and rejection experimentations were done using a stirred batch-cell filtration set-up. The experimental studies of fouling/rinsing cycles, rejection, and permeate fluxes were used to investigate the effect of PEG and PVP additives and effect of the two solvents on the fabricated membranes using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein. (C) 2017 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.