BACKGROUND: The existence of natural organic colloids causes membrane fouling, which decreases the flux rate. Hence, membrane modification and lake water pretreatment were carried out to improve membrane performance. In this study, important preparation parameters such as solvents (N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)), coagulant bath temperature (CBT) (10, 20 and 30 ∘ C) and coagulant (sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS): 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g L −1 ) were optimized for the fabrication of high flux polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. Cloisite was used for the pretreatment of lake water. RESULTS:The highest water permeability and pore radius of 393.03 × 10 −9 m s −1 kPa −1 and 4.43 nm, respectively, were observed for the PES/DMAc membrane combination at coagulant bath temperature of 10 ∘ C and non-solvent containing 1.5 g L −1 SDS solution. Morphology analysis also displayed large pore size and macrovoid formation for such combination. Pretreated lake water had highest natural organic matter (NOM) rejection of 93% for PES/DMF membrane made at a coagulant bath temperature of 20 ∘ C and non-solvent containing water. CONCLUSION: High flux PES membrane formation is achieved through the DMAc solvent with SDS as non-solvent solution at lower coagulation bath temperature. Pretreated lake water showed an increase of membrane flux and fouling resistance. Performance of lower MWCO membranesAmong the LMWCO membranes, CBT1 and S4 membrane have the highest average flux of 29.93 and 13.15 L m −2 h −1 for the J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2016; 91: 2568-2581

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Presence of humic acid (HA) in ground water threatens aquatic life and human health and for the effective treatment of such pollutants an advanced/hybrid method is essential. In this work, zirconia embedded in polyethersulfone (ZrePES) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been studied for the removal of HA. Chemical precipitation method was utilized to prepare nano zirconia (ZrO 2 ). The modified PES membrane with nano ZrO 2 of 2.5 and 5 wt% were studied.Contact angle measurement and protein rejection studies showed an enhanced hydrophilicity with increase in pore radius for ZrePES membranes. Also, the addition of nano ZrO 2 altered the membrane morphology and improved pure water permeability. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that HA adsorption efficiency was higher at pH 2 for ZrePES membranes. The HA uptake capacity of 50.5 mg/g was observed for the 5 wt% ZrePES membrane. Experimental adsorption results showed good agreement with adsorption kinetics model. Ultrafiltration studies showed HA rejection was up to 97% for 5 wt% ZrePES memebrane. Effects of natural substances and their impact on HA rejection in ZrePES membrane were also analyzed and discussed.

The different polymeric membrane materials were fabricated using modifiers such as sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and bentonite for effective ultrafiltration of proteins from dairy effluent. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethersulfone (PES), polyetherimide (PEI), polyamide‐imides (PAI), cellulose acetate (CA), and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) were selected for modification. Membrane morphology and functional group analysis were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Pure water permeability (64.66 × 10−9 m/s kPa) was higher for the PES/SPEEK/bentonite membrane when compared with other polymeric membranes. Contact angle (54.05°) value was lower for CA/SPEEK/bentonite membranes and which indicates that hydrophilicity has got enhanced. The membrane performance was tested using model dairy wastewater by ultrafiltration under longer run mode. Further it was evaluated using resistance in series model. This study infers that modification of membranes using charged SPEEK polymer and nanofiller as bentonite can be used to alleviate the fouling in the treatment of dairy wastewater. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41651.