Amphiphilic poly(ether sulfone) membranes for oil/water separation: Effect of sequence structure of the modifier

Abstract

Oil‐contaminated wastewater threatens our environment and health thus novel membrane materials with low or nonfouling properties are an immediate need for oily wastewater treatment in a cost‐effective and environmentally friendly manner. In this study, three types of amphiphilic random, gradient, and block copolymers with similar molecular weights and chemical compositions, based on poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8‐tridecafluorooctyl acrylate (TFOA), were synthesized by the reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) method. The amphiphilic Poly(ether sulfone) membranes were then fabricated by blending with these copolymers via a facile coupled process of nonsolvent induced phase separation and surface segregation. Accompanying the phase inversion process of polymer matrix, the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments in the amphiphilic modifiers would migrate and immobilize onto the membrane surfaces. This surface segregation process leaded to a chemical heterogeneous membrane surface comprising both hydrophilic PEGMA and low surface energy PTFOA brushes, which was confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and surface wettability analyses. Oil‐in‐water emulsion filtration test of the membranes displayed a lower permeate flux decline and a higher flux recovery (as high as 99.8%), establishing their considerably elevated antifouling properties. Additionally, cyclic oil/water separation and long‐term underwater immersion tests demonstrated that the as‐prepared membranes modified by these amphiphilic additives possessed excellent antifouling stabilities. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 739–750, 2017

Antifouling membranes for oily wastewater treatment: Interplay between wetting and membrane fouling

“…Several groups have reported enhanced antifouling property of membranes by combining fouling-resistant and fouling-release mechanisms. [18,55,95,[128][129][130][131][132] In the fouling-resistant mechanism, water molecules are tightly bound to the hydrophilic surface and form a hydration layer, preventing oil from contacting the surface. In the fouling-release mechanism, the surface is covered by low-surface-energy fluorine atoms, which reduces the adhesion energy between oil and the surface and facilitates the release of adsorbed oil.…”

Selective removal of tungstate anions from aqueous solutions by surface anion‐imprinted ceramic membranes

“…As shown in Fig. (a), the C1s spectra of the pristine IIP‐PEI/CM comprise four peaks with the binding energies at 284.3, 285.2, 286.3 and288.0 eV, which can be assigned to CC, CN, CO and CO respectively . After uptake of W(VI) onto IIP‐PEI/CM (Fig.…”

“…In Fig. (e), the N1 s spectra can be decomposed into two peaks of 399.6 and 399.9 eV, which are identified as = N and NH 2 , respectively . After binding with W(VI) (Fig.…”

Advances in the application of biomimetic surface engineering in the oil and gas industry

“…4 [52]. Zhang et al are committed to the development of oil-water separation membranes, including amphiphilic poly(ether sulfone) membranes [53,54] and gelatinbased aerogel [55]. In addition, a stimulus response membrane [56][57][58][59], an inorganic nanostructure superhydrophobic mesh membrane [60,61], and a molecular brush structure super-hydrophilic membrane [62] have also led to the intelligent development of membrane technologies.…”