Removal of BSA and HA Contaminants from Aqueous Solution Using Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymer Modified Poly(ether imide) UF Membrane and Their Fouling Behaviors

Abstract

Amphiphilic triblock copolymer (Pluronic F127) was used as a macromolecular additive to modify the surface of poly(ether imide) (PEI) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with additive contents from 0 to 3 wt % in the casting solution. The surface modification of the membranes was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The membranes were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy, UF of proteins, and flux recovery. A membrane with the highest Pluronic (3 wt %) in PEI exhibited the highest pure water flux, highest water content, and lowest membrane hydraulic resistance. It exhibited high UF fluxes of 170 and 180 L m −2 h −1 at 345 kPa, for 1.0 g/L bovine serum albumin (BSA) in phosphate buffer solution and 1.0 g/L humic acid (HA) in deionized water feed solutions, with solute rejections of 84 and 82%, respectively. It also showed that the blended membranes with 3 wt % Pluronic content had a higher flux recovery ratio (92.4 and 89.4%), slightly higher reversible fouling (25.8 and 18.8%), and lower irreversible fouling (7.6 and 10.6%) after the UF of BSA and HA solute separation. This explained their low fouling behaviors compared to the neat PEI membranes.

Customized antifouling polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membranes for effective removal of organic contaminants from aqueous stream

“…Considerable increase in hydrophilicity of the modified membranes led to enhanced transport of water molecules through membrane pores. Similar results were reported by Kanagaraj et al …”

“…PF127 or Pluronic is a non‐ionic macromolecule holding a triblock structure of poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(propylene oxide)‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO‐PPO‐PEO) and performs a dual function as pore former as well as surface modifying agent . Blending PF127 with base polymers like poly(ether sulfone) (PES), cellulose acetate (CA), polysulfone (PSU), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and poly(ether imide) (PEI) produced a unique self‐assembly pattern which improved the hydrophilicity and separation performance of the membrane . During the phase inversion process, in a major portion of the Pluronic F127 content, the hydrophilic PEO moiety spontaneously tend to move upwards and segregate at the membrane–water interface imparting a hydrophilic character while the counterpart, hydrophobic PPO moiety tend to fix onto the membrane matrix ensuring stability of hydrophilic PEO moieties at the membrane surface.…”

Noncovalently Functionalized Sulfated Castor Oil–Graphene Oxide-Strengthened Polyetherimide Composite Membranes for Superior Separation of Organic Pollutants and Their Fouling Mitigation

“…The removal efficiency (RE) of oil, HA, and BSA was calculated by the following equation where C f and C p are the concentrations of the feed and permeate solutions (mg/L), respectively …”

“…where C f and C p are the concentrations of the feed and permeate solutions (mg/L), respectively. 36 To assess the antifouling performance of the membranes, fouling test was conducted using oil-in-water emulsion and HA and BSA solutions as model foulants. Then, the fabricated bare PEI, PEI/SCO, and PEI/SCO@GO membranes were subjected to fouling analyses in terms of flux recovery ratio (FRR), internal fouling (I F ), and external fouling (E F ).…”

Modification of polysulfone membranes using triblock copolymer of polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol

“…Наибольшее количество работ посвящено получению и исследованию структуры и свойств мембран со смешанной матрицей полиэфирсульфон/Pluronic [8; 9]. Кроме полиэфирсульфона, в качестве полимерной матрицы для последующей модификации Pluronic используют как гидрофобные (поливинилхлорид [10], полиимид [11], полисульфон [7], поливинилиденфторид [8]), так и гидрофильные (поливиниловый спирт [12], ацетат целлюлозы [13]) полимеры. Во всех указанных случаях при введении Pluronic в полимерный формовочный раствор наблюдалось улучшение транспортных характеристик и увеличение гидрофильности поверхности ультрафильтраци-онных мембран: увеличение удельной производительности мембран и степени восстановления потока после фильтрации, уменьшение адсорбции белков и микроорганизмов в процессе эксплуатации мембран.…”