Improving the Transport and Antifouling Properties of Poly(vinyl chloride) Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration Membranes by Incorporating Silica Nanoparticles

Abstract

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/SiO 2 nanocomposite hollow-fiber membranes with different nano-SiO 2 particle loadings (0–5 wt %) were fabricated using the dry-jet wet-spinning technique. Effects of SiO 2 nanoparticles on the morphology of the prepared hollow-fiber membranes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Transport and antifouling properties of the fabricated membranes were evaluated by conducting pure-water permeation, solute rejection, and fouling resistance experiments. These studies indicated that incorporating silica nanoparticles into the PVC matrix during phase inversion lowers the hydraulic resistance through the membrane and narrows the selective membrane pores. Moreover, the nanocomposite membranes showed better antifouling properties compared to the pristine membrane during the ultrafiltration of a milk solution because of improved hydrophilicity and uniform dispersion of the nanoparticles. This work indicates that embedding silica nanoparticles into the PVC matrix is a promising method for producing cost-effective hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membranes with superior transport and antifouling properties.

A Pd-anchored poly(vinyl chloride-co-maleic acid monoamide)/poly(vinyl chloride) ultrafiltration membrane for the efficient degradation of 4-nitrophenol

“…Zhu et al 12 improved the pure water flux of a PVC UF membrane from 137.5 L m −2 h −1 to 259.6 L m −2 h −1 via surface zwitterionicalization. Saberi et al 22 improved the pure water flux of a PVC hollow-fiber UF membrane from 99 L m −2 h −1 to 137 L m −2 h −1 by incorporating silica nanoparticles and Yong et al 17 blended lignin in a PVC UF membrane and improved its pure water flux from 111.6 L m −2 h −1 to 347.2 L m −2 h −1 . Liu et al 34 blended the poly(ethylene oxide)- b -poly(propylene oxide)- b -poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer (Pluronic F127) in a PVC/chlorinated PVC UF membrane and the pure water flux increased from 38.5 L m −2 h −1 to 209.0 L m −2 h −1 .…”

“…Zhu et al 12 improved the pure water flux of a PVC UF membrane from 137.5 L m À2 h À1 to 259.6 L m À2 h À1 via surface zwitterionicalization. Saberi et al 22 improved the pure water flux of a PVC hollow-fiber UF membrane from 99 L m À2 h À1 to 137 L m À2 h À1 by incorporating silica nanoparticles and Yong et al 17 membranes decreased with an increase in PVMA from 0% to 50%. This is consistent with the FTIR-ATR results, demonstrating an increasing amount of hydrophilic PVMA on the membrane surface.…”

“…PVC is one of the most widely used polymers for the fabrication of UF membranes due to its chemical stability and competitive cost. Some blending modifiers, such as lignin, 17 polyvinyl butyral, 18 polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), 19 poly(ethylene glycol), 20 multi-walled carbon nanotube-grafted-graphene oxide, 21 SiO 2 22 and TiO 2 23 nanoparticles, have been applied to improve the hydrophilicity and antifouling performance of PVC UF membranes. However, it still remains a great challenge to achieve hydrophilicity and immobilize metal catalysts simultaneously because PVC is incompatible with most hydrophilic polymers and lacks reactive groups.…”

Amphiphilic Block Copolymer of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) and Methoxypolyethylene Glycols for High-Permeable Polysulfone Membrane Preparation

“…The fouling would reduce the membrane flux and the service life and increase maintenance costs. The fundamental solution to the fouling is to improve the surface hydrophilicity. − However, a large proportion of the water-soluble additives will seep out in the water environment.…”

Ion‐Selective MXene‐Based Membranes: Current Status and Prospects

“…

On the other hand, membrane separation has attracted attention, as an environmentally safe, simple, sustainable, and energy-efficient alternative separation technology. [4][5][6][7][8][9] Furthermore, compared to conventional separation processes, membrane separation has been found to be promising in water and wastewater treatment, [10,11] gas separation, [12][13][14] oil refinement, [15,16] food processing, [17] biology, [18][19][20] solid-phase extractions, [21,22] ion separation, [23] and pharmaceutical industries. [24] Ion-separation membranes have been widely used in various fields, such as electroplating, treatment of electronic waste, precious metal recovery, and metallurgical and battery industries.

…”