Polyurethane and sulfonated polysulfone blend ultrafiltration membranes: II. Application studies

Abstract

Ultrafiltration membranes are largely being applied for macromolecular and heavy metal ion separations from aqueous streams. Polyurethane‐ and sulfonated‐ polysulfone‐based membranes prepared in the absence and presence of the polymeric additive, poly(ethylene glycol) 600, in various compositions, were subjected to the rejection of macromolecular proteins, such as bovine serum albumin, egg albumin, pepsin and trypsin. Toxic heavy metal ions such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ were subjected to rejection by the blend membranes by complexing them with a polymeric ligand, polyethyleneimine. The effects of polymer blend compositions and additive concentrations on the rejection and permeate flux of both proteins and metal ions are discussed. The rejection and permeate flux efficiencies of the blend membranes are compared with pure sulfonated polysulfone membranes. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry

Toxic metal ion separation by cellulose acetate/sulfonated poly(ether imide) blend membranes: Effect of polymer composition and additive

“…This decreasing order of separation with increasing SPEI content in blend might be due to the inhomogeneity arising as a result of the higher SPEI content creating voids in the blend membranes. Similar results were reported for polyurethane/sulfonated polysulfone blend membranes by Malaisamy et al [35].…”

Performance enhancement of polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane by blending with polyurethane hydrophilic polymer

“…When pure PU membrane is compared with the PSf and 80/20 wt % PSf/PU, the average pore radius, surface porosity and pore density values are enhanced. These results show the more hydrophilic character of the PU membrane, which is reported by Malaisamy et al [23] .…”

“…These results are in good agreement with the PWF data. Malaisamy et al [23] obtained similar results when PU was added to sulfonated PSf blend membranes. When pure PU membrane is compared with the PSf and 80/20 wt % PSf/PU, the average pore radius, surface porosity and pore density values are enhanced.…”

Polyurethane and carboxylated polysulfone blend ultrafiltration membranes. I. Preparation and characterization

“…Further, the presence of additive also improved the flux behavior of membranes 13. A broad variety of morphologically different polymeric membranes have been reported by changing the parameters such as the composition and concentrations of the polymer, solvent, and additive 3, 14–16…”