Membranes obtained on the basis of cellulose acetate and their use in removal of phenol from liquid phase

Abstract

The membranes based on cellulose acetate (CA) were obtained by the method of phase inversion and used for removal of phenol (in concentrations of 15 and 25 mg/L) from liquid phase. To differentiate the hydrophilic properties of the membrane surfaces, different amounts of cellulose acetate (14 and 18 wt. %) and polyvinylpyrrolidone as a pore-generating agent (PVP, 1, 2, 3 or 4 wt. %) were used. The membranes were characterised by determination of their porosity, equilibrium water content, wetting angle and content of surface oxygen functional groups. After the application of membranes to phenol removal, the following parameters characterising the process were determined: permeability, membrane resistance, coke resistances, pore resistances, total filtration resistance and flux recovery ratio. The membranes were found to show higher effectiveness in phenol removal from a solution of the initial concentration 15 mg/L, and more effective were the membranes with higher contents of cellulose acetate. On the surface of the membranes the oxygen functional groups of acidic nature are dominant, both before and after filtration. The membranes of higher contents of cellulose acetate show higher resistances.