Effect of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) additive on the performance of poly(ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes

Abstract

The effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone additive on the performance of polyethersulfone ultrafiltration (UF) membranes was studied using various compositions for film casting solutions. The concentration of polyethersulfone polymer was changed from 15 to 30 wt %, while keeping the weight ratio of polyvinylpyrrolidone to polyethersulfone in the range 0-2.5. IV-Methylpyrrolidone was used for solvent. The performance data of UF membranes and the pore size and the pore size distribution on the membrane surface have also been investigated. It was found from viscoelastic and other observations that the interaction between polyethersulfone and polyvinylpyrrolidone is strongest when their weight ratio is unity. The structure of the film casting solution under such a strong interaction force causes an increase in the size of the largest pores involved in the pore size distribution and, consequently, increases the permeation rate through the UF membrane.

Functional Properties of Punica granatum L. Juice Clarified by Hollow Fiber Membranes

“…The enhancement in membrane hydrophilicity could be related to the presence of the hydrophilic PVP into the polymeric matrix and not washed away during membrane post-treatment with water [29][30][31]. The water permeability is reported in Table 2.…”

Improved Performance of CaCl 2 Incorporated Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membranes

“…Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is one of the widely studied hydrophilic polymer additive for blending with PES membrane due to its good miscibility nature with PES [34,35,39]. PVP increases the cast solution viscosity and thus ensures better pore interconnectivity when added in the optimum amount [40].…”

“…These limitations of PES membrane is overcome by enhancing the surface hydrophilicity of the PES using different methods [27][28][29]. A number of research studies have been reported on the hydrophilization of PES membranes [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. In these studies, a hydrophilic additive (usually inorganic or polymeric) is often added to the casting dope to prepare hydrophilic composite PES membranes.…”

Investigating the Usability of Alkali Lignin as an Additive in Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membranes

“…Unmodified polysulfone membranes perform poorly compared to modified membranes (Lafreniere et al 1987). Membrane modification techniques vary from the use of hydrophilic polymers or inorganic nanoparticles as additives to changing certain conditions during membrane fabrication.…”