This review provides a comprehensive overview on applications, preparation methods, and most notably the performance efficiency of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based membranes for filtration of aqueous environments. Incorporation of PVA into the membrane matrix significantly enhances such characteristics as antifouling and antibacterial properties as well as hydrophilicity and permeability in the water and wastewater filtrations. Contribution of different PVAbased modular membranes for water purification targets via a comparative review on previous researches is the main theme in this work. Alongside with the focused topic, some basic theories and principals of blend and composite polymer films as well as polymer fibers are debated before the main discussions. This review will ultimately facilitate further development of PVA membranes for the future investigations.

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