Studies on cellulose acetate–carboxylated polysulfone blend ultrafiltration membranes—Part II

Hydrophilic polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes were prepared from blends of cellulose acetate and carboxylated polysulfones of 0.43 and 0.75 degrees of carboxylation. The effects of degree of carboxylation on membrane characteristics such as compaction, pure water flux, water content and membrane hydraulic resistance, have been investigated to evaluate the performance of the membranes. The influence of the degree of carboxylation on the performance of the blend membranes of various blend polymer compositions has been investigated and also compared with earlier reports on blend membranes prepared from cellulose acetate and polysulfone or carboxylated polysulfone of 0.14 degree of carboxylation. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cellulose acetate and sulfonated polysulfone blend ultrafiltration membranes. I. Preparation and characterization

Modification of polymeric membrane materials by incorporation of hydrophilicity results in membranes with low fouling behavior and high flux. Hence, Polysulfone was functionalized by sulfonation and ultrafiltration membranes were prepared based on sulfonated polysulfone and cellulose acetate in various blend compositions. Polyethyleneglycol 600 was employed as a nonsolvent additive in various concentrations to the casting solution to improve the ultrafiltration performance of the resulting membranes. The total polymer concentration, cellulose acetate, and sulfonated polysulfone polymer blend composition, additive concentration, and its compatibility with polymer blends were optimized. The membranes prepared were characterized in terms of compaction, pure water flux, membrane resistance, and water content. The compaction takes place within 3–4 h for all the membranes. The pure water flux is determined largely by the composition of sulfonated polysulfone and concentration of additive. Membrane resistance is inversely proportional to pure water flux, and water content is proportional to pure water flux for all the membranes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1749–1761, 2002     

Studies on cellulose acetate–polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes: I. Effect of polymer composition

Ultrafiltration techniques have particular advantages for simultaneous purification, concentration and fractionation of macromolecules. Studies are presented on novel ultrafiltration membranes, based on cellulose acetate and polysulfone blends, for the separation of proteins and heavy metal ions. The effects of polymer composition on pure water flux, water content, molecular weight cut‐off and hydraulic resistance are discussed. Scanning electron microscopy images of the membranes show the presence of segregated individual domains of cellulose acetate and polysulfone. The molecular weight cut‐off obtained from the protein separation studies is also presented. Applications of these membranes for separating metal ions from aqueous streams are discussed. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose Acetate/Aminated Polysulfone Blend Ultrafiltration Membranes and their Application Studies

Abstract

Ultrafiltration membranes are largely being applied for heavy metal ion separations from aqueous streams. Cellulose acetate (CA) and aminated polysulfone (APSf) based membranes are prepared in the absence and presence of the polymeric additive, polyethylene glycol, PEG 600, in various compositions. The effects of polymer blend composition and additive concentration on compaction, pure water flux, membrane hydraulic resistance, water uptake, and contact angle has been investigated to evaluate the performance of the membranes and the results are discussed. Surface and cross-sectional morphologies of membranes were also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. Toxic heavy metal ions such as Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Zn²⁺ were separated by the blend membranes using polyethyleneimine (PEI) as polymeric ligand. The rejection and permeate flux efficiencies of the blend membranes are compared with pure cellulose acetate membranes.     

Application Studies of Cellulose Acetate and Polymethylmethacrylate Blend Ultrafiltration Membranes

The preparation of novel membranes based on cellulose acetate and polymethylmethacrylate blends in the absence and presence of the pore former by solution blending and ultrafiltration set up was carried out. The effect of compaction time on pure water flux at higher transmembrane pressure for various polymer compositions of the above blends both in the presence and absence of the pore former PEG 600 at different concentrations were reported for individual polymer blends. The pure water flux at 345 kPa, Molecular weight cut-off (MWCO). The application of the characterized CA/PMMA blend membranes for the separation of proteins such as Bovine Serum albumin, Egg Albumin, Pepsin, and Trypsin, and toxic heavy metals such as Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) using polyethyleneimine as complexing agent have been attempted and the results indicate the efficiency of the ultrafiltration blend membranes.     

Cellulose acetate and sulfonated polysulfone blend ultrafiltration membranes. II. Pore statistics,molecular weight cutoff,and morphological studies

The determination of the pore size, porosity, number of pores, molecular weight cutoff (MWCO), and morphology of an ultrafiltration membrane is necessary for predicting the performance of a membrane for a specific application. For ultrafiltration membranes prepared from cellulose acetate and sulfonated polysulfone in the presence and absence of various concentrations of the additive poly(ethylene glycol) 600, pore statistics and MWCOs were determined in studies with dextrans of different molecular weights. Surface and cross‐sectional morphologies of the membranes were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy at different magnifications. The pore size increased with increasing concentrations of sulfonated polysulfone and additive in the casting solution. Similarly, the MWCOs of the membranes ranged from 19 to 150 kDa, depending on the various polymer blend compositions and additive concentrations. Results from scanning electron microscopy provided qualitative evidence for the trends observed for the pore statistics and MWCO results. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 430–444, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10414     

Sulfonated polysulfone membranes with antifouling activity

The protein fouling phenomenon was investigated on modified polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes. The sulfonation degree was correlated to the extent of deposition of bovine serum albumin. It was shown that membranes prepared from modified polysulfone were less fouled than their off-charge analogues. The fouling phenomenon was also investigated for membranes prepared from co-cast blends. It was demonstrated that blends containing more than 50 wt.-% of sulfonated derivative behaved like a membrane from pure sulfonated polysulfone. The effect was attributed to surface separation of polymers and formation of surfaces enriched with sulfonic groups.     

Synthesis and characterization of cellulose acetate-polysulfone blend microfiltration membrane for separation of microbial cells from lactic acid fermentation broth

This work is focused on synthesis and characterization of a polymer blend microfiltration membrane for separation of microbial cells from lactic acid fermentation broth in a continuous process. The membranes were prepared by blending hydrophilic cellulose diacetate (CA) polymer with hydrophobic polysulfone (PSF) polymer in wet phase inversion method. Polymers were blended in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent (70 wt.%) where polyethylene glycol was added as a pore former. The membranes were characterized in terms of morphology, porosity, flux and microbial separation capability. The best prepared membrane with PSF/CA weight ratio of 25/75 yielded a pure water flux of 1830 LMH (liter/m² h) and a fermentation broth flux of 1430 LMH at around 1.5 bar TMP (trans-membrane pressure). The membrane was successful in complete retention of microbial cells from the broth in a continuous crossflow membrane module integrated with the fermentor.     

抗污染超滤膜的研制

本文研制了氯甲基化／季铵化聚砜与聚偏氟乙烯共混超滤膜用于阴极电泳漆超滤系统。首先优化了氯甲基化／季铵化聚砜超滤膜的制备工艺，在此基础上，用聚偏氟乙烯部分代替氯甲基化聚砜制备共混超滤膜。结果表明：氯甲基化／季铵化聚砜与聚偏氟乙烯共混超滤膜不仅具有优良的分离性能，而且改善了膜的抗污染性。     

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)‐induced porous poly(ether sulfone) blend membranes for the separation of proteins and metal ions

Asymmetric ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared by the blending of poly(ether sulfone) (PES) and sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) polymers with N,N′‐dimethylformamide solvent by the phase‐inversion method. SPEEK was selected as the hydrophilic polymer in a blend with different composition of PES and SPEEK. The solution‐cast PES/SPEEK blend membranes were homogeneous for all of the studied compositions from 100/0 to 60/40 wt % in a total of 17.5 wt % polymer and 82.5 wt % solvent. The presence of SPEEK beyond 40 wt % in the casting solution did not form membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized for their UF performances, such as pure water flux, water content, porosity, and membrane hydraulic resistance, and morphology and melting temperature. We estimated that the pure water flux of the PES/SPEEK blend membranes increased from 17.3 to 85.6 L m^?2 h^?1 when the concentration of SPEEK increased from 0 to 40 wt % in the casting solution. The membranes were also characterized their separation performance with proteins and metal‐ion solutions. The results indicate significant improvement in the performance characteristics of the blend membranes with the addition of SPEEK. In particular, the rejection of proteins and metal ions was marginally decreased, whereas the permeate flux was radically improved. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Effect of Poly(ethylene glycol) on Separations by Cellulose Acetate/poly(ether imide) Blend Membranes

Ultrafiltration membranes are largely being applied for macromolecular and heavy metal ion separations from aqueous streams. In this study, cellulose acetate (CA) and polyetherimide (PEI) based ultrafiltration blend membranes prepared in the absence and presence of poly(ethylene glycol) 600 (PEG 600) in various compositions were subjected to the separation of macromolecular proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), egg albumin (EA), pepsin and trypsin. Toxic heavy metal ions such as Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) were subjected to separation by the blend membranes by complexing them with the 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. In general, it was found that CA/PEI blend membranes displayed higher permeate flux and lower rejection compared to pure cellulose acetate membranes at all additive concentrations. The extent of separation of proteins was found to be directly proportional to the molecular weight of the protein, while the extent of removal of metal ions depends on the affinity of metal ions to polyethyleneimine and the stability of the formed complexes.     

Performance characterization of cellulose acetate and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) blend membranes

Hydrophilic ultrafiltration membranes have been prepared by blending cellulose acetate (CA) as a matrix polymer with increasing concentrations of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) using N,N′‐dimethylformamide as the solvent. It is observed that the presence of PVP beyond 50 wt % in the casting solution did not form membranes. Prepared membranes have been subjected to ultrafiltration characterizations such as compaction, pure water flux, water content, and membrane hydraulic resistance. The results indicate significant changes in the characteristics upon the addition of PVP, which may lead to improved performance. The porosity, pore size, and molecular weight cut‐off of the membranes also increase as the concentration of PVP increases. It is estimated that the pore radius of the CA/PVP membranes increases from 30 to 63 Å, when the concentration of PVP increased from 0 to 50 wt %. This is in agreement with the results obtained from scanning electron microscopic studies. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Separation of Humic Substances by Porous Ion-Exchange Membranes from Sulfonated Polysulfone

Abstract

Ultrafiltration involving sulfonated polysulfone membranes provides high efficiency for humic matter removal from water. The increase in ion-exchange capacity of the polymer matrix from 0.24 to 0.96 mmol SO₃H groups per 1 g of dry membrane increases the membrane pore diameter and its hydrophilicity, and thus the permeate flux from 0.05 to 3.69 m³/m²·d. In order to decrease the manufacturing cost, membranes from polysulfone and sulfonated polysulfone blends were investigated. It was shown that a one-to-one blend resulted in a membrane having similar antifouling properties to pure sulfonated polysulfone. Both membranes reject humic matter in the 91–98% range and show a flux decline of 5–30% as a result of surface fouling.     

Cellulose acetate–poly(ether sulfone) blend ultrafiltration membranes. II. Application studies

Ultrafiltration membranes are largely applied as macromolecular solutes and heavy‐metal‐ion separation from aqueous streams. Cellulose acetate and poly(ether sulfone) blend ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by the precipitation phase‐inversion technique in 100/0, 95/5, 85/15, and 75/25% polymer blend compositions in the absence and presence of a polymeric additive, poly(ethylene glycol) 600, at different additive concentrations and were used for the rejection of proteins trypsin, pepsin, egg albumin, and bovine serum albumin; a maximum of 94% rejection was achieved. The toxic heavy metal ions copper, nickel, and cadmium from dilute aqueous solutions were subjected to rejection by the blend membranes by complexation of the ions with the water‐soluble polymeric ligand, polyethyleneimine (PEI). Permeate flux studies of proteins and metal ions were performed simultaneously with the rejection experiments. The atomic absorption spectra results reveal maximum rejection for copper complex and a minimum rejection of about 60% for the cadmium complex. The rejection and permeate flux of the blend membranes were compared with those of pure cellulose acetate membranes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3659–3665, 2004     

Preparation and characterization of composite membranes of polysulfone and microcrystalline cellulose

Physical and chemical modifications of polymeric ultrafiltration membranes are necessary to improve their hydrophilic properties, strength, and other characteristics. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was prepared from cellulose pulp by acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis in the presence of ultrasonic radiation, and the properties of MCC were evaluated. Through the addition of MCC to a polysulfone (PS) membrane solution, a casting solution of a PS/MCC blend was obtained. Subsequently, the ultrafiltration membrane from the blend was further developed in a phase‐inversion process comprising immersion and deposition. The capacity for ultrafiltration was better with increasing MCC content. When the ratio of MCC to PS was 0.3, the pure water flux of the composite membrane reached 234.2 L/m²/h, and the retention of a bovine serum albumin solution (1 g/L) was as high as 93.4%. The membranes were also observed with scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to study their microstructures. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

用于脱除C5及MTBE中甲醇的渗透汽化膜研究

Several pervaporation membranes, cellulose acetate (CA), polyvinylbutyral (PVB), poly(MMA-co-AA),MMA-AA-BA, CA/PVB blend and CA/poly(MMA-co-AA) blend, were prepared, and their pervaporation properties were evaluated by separation of methanol/C5 or methanol/MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether). The results shows that the CA composite membrane has a high separation performance (flux Jmethanol = 350 g.m-2.h-1 and separation factor α＞400) for methanol/C5 mixtures, and the pervaporation characteristics of MMA-AA-BA copolymer membranes changes with the ratio of copolymer. For CA/poly(MMA-co-AA) blend membrane, the pervaporation performance is improved in comparison with CA or poly(MMA-co-AA) membrane. From the experiment of CA/PVB blend membranes for methanol/MTBE mixture, it is found that the compatibility of blends may affect the separation features of blend membrane.     

Studies on Cellulose Acetate/Low Cyclic Dimmer Polysulfone Blend Ultrafiltration Membranes and their Applications

Abstract

Flat sheet ultrafiltration membranes from cellulose acetate (CA)/low cyclic dimer polysulfone (LCD PSf) were prepared by a phase inversion method. N, N′‐Dimethyl formamide and different molecular weight of polyethylene glycol (PEG 200, PEG 400, and PEG 600) were used as solvent and pore‐forming additive, respectively. The membranes were characterized in terms of pure water flux, water content, porosity, membrane hydraulic resistance, and morphology. The pure water flux was found to reach the highest value of 181.82 Lm^?2h^?1 at 5 wt.% PEG of 600 molecular weight and 10 wt.% LCD PSf content in the blended solution for membrane preparation. SEM micrographs indicated that the addition of PEG into the CA/LCD PSf solution changes the inner structure of the membrane. The influence of filtration time and applied pressure on membrane permeability was examined by copper/polyethylenimine complex rejection studies. With increase in filtration time, the rejection of the copper/polyethylenimine complex decreased and the results were discussed.     

Protein separation by cellulose acetate/sulfonated poly(ether imide) blend ultrafiltration membranes

A process for purifying aqueous solutions containing macromolecular proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), egg albumin (EA), pepsin, and trypsin has been investigated. Protein removal from food and biorelated industrial waste streams are gaining increased visibility due to environmental concern and saving precious materials. Ultrafiltration (UF) processes are largely being applied for protein separation from aqueous streams. In this work, an attempt has been made to separate the valuable proteins using cellulose acetate (CA)/sulfonated poly(ether imide) (SPEI) blend UF membranes prepared in the absence and presence of the additive, polyethyleneglycol (PEG600) in various compositions. The blend membranes were subjected to the determination of pore statistics and molecular weight cut‐off (MWCO). Porosity and pore size of the membranes increased with increasing concentrations of SPEI and PEG600 in the casting solution. Similarly, the MWCOs of the blend membranes ranged from 20 to greater than 69 kDa, depending on the various polymer blend compositions. Surface morphology of the blend membranes were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. Studies were carried out to find the rejection and permeate flux of proteins. On increasing the concentration of SPEI and PEG600, the rejection of proteins is decreasing, whereas the permeate flux has an increasing trend. The effect of hydrophilicity of SPEI on fouling of protein for CA/SPEI blend membranes was also discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membranes reinforced by cellulose nanocrystals: Preparation and characterization

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were used as a sustainable additive to improve the hydrophilicity, permeability, antifouling, and mechanical properties of blend membranes. Different CNC loadings (0–1.2 wt %) in cellulose acetate (CA) membranes were studied. The blend membranes were prepared by a phase‐inversion process, and their chemical structure and morphological properties were characterized by attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, porosity, and mean pore size and contact angle measurement. The blend membranes became more porous and more interconnected after the addition of CNCs. The thickness of the top layer decreased and a few large holes in the porous substrate appeared with increasing CNC loading. In comparison with the pure CA membranes, the pure water flux of the blend membranes increased with increasing CNC loading. It reaches a maximum value of 76 L m^?2 h^?1 when the CNC loading was 0.5 wt %. The antifouling properties of the CA membrane were significantly improved after the addition of CNCs, and the flux recovery ratio value increased to 68% with the addition of 0.5 wt % CNCs. In comparison with that of the pure CA membranes, the tensile strength of the composite membranes increased by 47%. This study demonstrated the importance of using sustainable CNCs to achieve great improvements in the physical and chemical performance of CA ultrafiltration membranes and provided an efficient method for preparing high‐performance membranes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43946.     

Solvent‐stable UV‐cured acrylic polysulfone membranes

A systematic investigation of the effect of the presence of acrylate resin on polysulfone‐based membranes was performed with the aim of obtaining chemically stable crosslinked membranes without affecting their flux performances. The membranes were prepared via UV curing of the polymer dope followed by a non‐solvent‐induced phase separation process. Two different acrylic monomers were investigated and their amount was varied in the polymer dope, to study the influence of concentration on final results. High crosslinking degrees were achieved by irradiating the solution for one minute. Morphological investigations of the active surface and of the cross‐sections of the fabricated membranes showed that the typical porosity of ultrafiltration membranes was obtained starting from solutions containing a low amount of crosslinker (10 wt%), which is consistent with the water flux values which were comparable to that of the pristine polysulfone membrane. High concentrations of crosslinker resin in the initial polymer dope produced denser membranes with lower permeability. High rejection of 27 nm particles (>90%) was measured for all samples having measurable flux. The addition of the crosslinker allowed one to obtain stability in various solvents without affecting the flux and rejection performance of the porous membranes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry