Fabrication of PES/PVP Water Filtration Membranes Using Cyrene®, a Safer Bio-Based Polar Aprotic Solvent

Abstract

A more sustainable dialysis and water filtration membrane has been developed, by using the new, safer, bio-based solvent Cyrene® in place of N-methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP). The effects of solvent choice, solvent evaporation time, the temperature of casting gel, and coagulation bath together with the additive concentration on porosity and pore size distribution were studied. The results, combined with infrared spectra, SEM images, porosity results, water contact angle (WCA), and water permeation, confirm that Cyrene® is better media to produce polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. New methods, Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and NMR-based pore structure model, were applied to estimate the porosity and pore size distribution of the new membranes produced for the first time with Cyrene® and PVP as additive. Hansen Solubility Parameters in Practice (HSPiP) was used to predict polymer-solvent interactions. The use of Cyrene® resulted in reduced polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) loading than required when using NMP and gave materials with larger pores and overall porosity. Two different conditions of casting gel were applied in this study: a hot (70°C) and cold gel (17°C) were cast to obtain membranes with different morphologies and water filtration behaviours.

Cannabinoids and Terpenes as an Antibacterial and Antibiofouling Promotor for PES Water Filtration Membranes

“…Moreover, filtration of microscopic agents like bacteria and viruses may not be accomplished based on the composition and processing condition of the casting solution [7]. To modify and enhance characteristics of these membranes, the blending of different polymers, incorporation of organic compounds, and treatment of membranes with surfactants has been extensively applied [5].Commercially, porous polymeric membranes (i.e., cellulose acetate, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polysulfone, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES)) are used for membrane fabrication [8]. Polyethersulfone (PES) is a FDA approved polymer that exhibits exceptional temperature, hydrolytic, oxidative, and chemical stability.…”

“…Commercially, porous polymeric membranes (i.e., cellulose acetate, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polysulfone, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethersulfone (PES)) are used for membrane fabrication [8]. Polyethersulfone (PES) is a FDA approved polymer that exhibits exceptional temperature, hydrolytic, oxidative, and chemical stability.…”

Sustainable Fabrication of Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Membranes

“…One of the emerging green solvents for replacing polar aprotic solvents (e.g., NMP, DMAc, and DMF) is the bio-based dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) [ 47 ]. Cyrene currently is a commercially available and nontoxic solvent obtained from renewable waste and a nonfood cellulosic source [ 25 ]. According to the work carried out by Sherwood et al [ 47 ], Cyrene can be produced via two simple steps from the biomass, which can cut down on environmental footprints.…”

“…Cyrene has also been used by other researchers to prepare PES (with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) used as an additive) flat sheet membranes for water filtration application by NIPS technique [ 25 ]. An extensive comparison was made between membranes prepared using Cyrene and NMP.…”

“…An extensive comparison was made between membranes prepared using Cyrene and NMP. Membranes prepared with bio-based Cyrene were more sustainable, with less polymer losses, tunable pore sizes, and contact angles [ 25 ]. The authors claimed that membranes prepared with Cyrene exhibited higher total porosity and larger pore sizes in comparison with those fabricated using NMP [ 25 ].…”