Synthesis, characterization and thermal studies on cellulose acetate membranes with additive

Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes are used in ultrafiltration applications, although they show low chemical, mechanical and thermal resistance. In order to prepare membranes with improved properties, modification of cellulose acetate with polyethelene glycol (PEG 600) has been attempted. In this study, CA has been mixed with PEG 600 as an additive in a polar solvent. The effects of CA composition and additive concentration given by a mixture design of experiments on membrane compaction, pure water flux, water content and membrane hydraulic resistance have been studied and discussed. The efficiency of protein separation by the developed CA membranes have been quantified using model proteins such as pepsin, egg albumin (EA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). The thermal stability of the developed membranes prepared with PEG 600 additive has also been investigated using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.