Improving antifouling performance for the harvesting of Scenedesmus acuminatus using Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles incorporated PVC nanocomposite membranes

Abstract

Membrane filtration provided a potential solution to get high quality microalgae biomass and recyclable medium. However, the fouling of membrane by microalgae cells and organic matter greatly affects membrane harvesting efficiency. In this study, membrane performance was tested in terms of flux declining and backwashing recovery for microalgal harvesting. Compared with the unmodified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane, the membrane with 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporation had a 66% increase in average flux, reaching 138 L m− h−1. Foulants on the membrane surface were characterized using attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), as well as sodium hydroxide extraction followed by total organic carbon (TOC) quantification and fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (FEEM) identification of organic components. FEEM and TOC analysis of the extracted foulants revealed that the surface of 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated membrane had less fouling than the unmodified PVC membrane, which may be attributed to its hydrophilicity after Fe2O3 incorporation. CLSM analysis and ATR‐FTIR analysis of the fouled membrane surface further revealed that the protein substance on the 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated PVC membrane was lower than those in the unmodified membrane, which further confirmed the enhanced antifouling performance of the 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated PVC membrane. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47685.

Improvement of filtration performance of polyvinyl chloride/cellulose acetate blend membrane via acid hydrolysis

“…For a pure PVC (or CA), the instability of the system increases with the increase of the proportion of another component CA (or PVC), and reaches the maximum when PVC/CA = 40/60. When the phase is transformed into membrane, this will lead to instantaneous stratification of PVC/CA blend in the solidification bath, thus forming macro pores in the membrane structure, 10 which will lead to increased permeability. The aim of our current work is to improve the properties of PVC/CA blend membrane by adding a small amount of CA, not only considering the increase of permeability.…”

“…The hydrophilic modification of PVC membrane mainly focuses on surface modification and blending modification 7 . The common surface modification methods include surface chemical treatment, plasma treatment, UV radiation, high‐energy radiation, and so forth 8–11 . The surface treatment will inevitably damage the structure and strength of the membrane, and it is difficult to realize large‐scale industrial production.…”

“…7 The common surface modification methods include surface chemical treatment, plasma treatment, UV radiation, high-energy radiation, and so forth. [8][9][10][11] The surface treatment will inevitably damage the structure and strength of the membrane, and it is difficult to realize large-scale industrial production. At present, blending method is often used for hydrophilic modification of PVC membrane, and additives with strong hydrophilicity are usually used, but the reported additives have poor biocompatibility and are often nonbiodegradable.…”

Binary metal oxides incorporated polyethersulfone ultrafiltration mixed matrix membranes for the pretreatment of seawater desalination

“…Unfortunately, most commercial polymeric UF membranes are hydrophobic in nature, which are prone to fouling. 4,5 To overcome this, membrane modification has become a prominent technique to reduce the deposition and accumulation of foulants over the surface of membrane. The recent innovation of incorporating nanomaterials into polymer membranes has significantly revolutionized the development of sustainable desalination mixed matrix membranes (MMMs).…”

“…For this purpose, the UF membrane should be chemically stable and able to resist various forms of fouling. Unfortunately, most commercial polymeric UF membranes are hydrophobic in nature, which are prone to fouling 4,5 . To overcome this, membrane modification has become a prominent technique to reduce the deposition and accumulation of foulants over the surface of membrane.…”