Investigations of the characteristics and performance of modified polyethersulfones (PES) as membrane oxygenator

Abstract

The modification of membrane oxygenators to minimize protein adsorption onto the surface is often accompanied by the loss of membrane performance. This study aims to explore polyethersulfone (PES) as a new material for membrane oxygenator applications and to assess its potentials. Accordingly, different modification techniques are applied to improve surface properties of PES membranes. To achieve this goal, two separate modification methods including incorporation of TiO2 into the membrane matrix as well as grafting polyethylene glycol (PEG) through oxygen plasma treatment are developed and the effects are examined. The results reveal that protein adsorption to the nanocomposite membrane containing 0.50 wt. % TiO2 and the grafted membrane decreased by 47 and 31%, respectively. In terms of performance, permeability and oxygen transfer rate of all modified membranes exceeded 808 GPU and 2.7 × 10−4 mol·m−2·s−1, respectively. Contact angle analysis revealed signs of hydrophilicity enhancement of membranes after modifications. The findings suggest that upon proper modifications, membranes based on PES could be considered as promising candidates for membrane oxygenator applications and deserves further investigations.

Development of polyamide/polyacrylonitrile thin film composite RO membranes by interfacial polymerization assisted with an aromatic/aliphatic organic solvent mixture

“…This process leads into the formation of a system comprised of polymer‐rich and a polymer‐lean phases. The polymer‐rich regions then frow to form the membrane structure whereas the polymer‐lean regions end up with formation of the membrane pores 35–37 …”