Crosslinked cellulose thin film composite nanofiltration membranes with zero salt rejection

We report a new synthetic route of fabricating regenerated cellulose nanofiltration membranes. The membranes are composite membranes with a thin selective layer of cellulose, which was prepared by regeneration of trimethylsilyl cellulose (a hydrophobic cellulose derivative) film followed by cross-linking. Filtration experiments using mixtures of sugar and sodium chloride showed that solutes above 300 Da were highly rejected whereas practically no rejection was observed for NaCl. This is a big advantage for a complete desalination as the existing commercial nanofiltration membranes typically exhibit NaCl rejection in the range of 30-60%. Membranes with zero NaCl rejection are required for recovery and purification applications in food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.