Water Treatment Using High Performance Antifouling Ultrafiltration Polyether Sulfone Membranes Incorporated with Activated Carbon

Abstract

Membrane fouling is a continued critical challenge for ultrafiltration membranes performance. In this work, polyether sulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were fabricated via phase-inversion method by incorporating varying concentrations of APTMS modified activated carbon (mAC). The mAC was thoroughly characterized and the fabricated membranes were studied for their surface morphology, functional groups, contact angle, water retention, swelling (%) porosity, and water flux. The hydrophilicity of mAC membranes also resulted in lower contact angle and higher values of porosity, roughness, water retention as well as water flux. Also, the membranes incorporated with mAC exhibited antibacterial performance against model test strains of gram-negative Ecoil and gram-positive S. aureus. The antifouling studies based on bovine serum albumin protein (BSA) solution filtration showed that mAC membranes have better BSA flux. The higher flux and antifouling characteristics of the mAC membranes were attributed to the electrostatic repulsion of the BSA protein from the unique functional properties of AC and network structure of APTMS. The novel mAC ultrafiltration membranes developed and studied in present work can provide higher flux and less BSA rejection thus can find antifouling applications for the isolation and concentration of proteins and macromolecules.

Poly(arylene ether)s-Based Polymeric Membranes Applied for Water Purification in Harsh Environment Conditions: A Mini-Review

“…Furthermore, researchers aimed to enhance PES membranes' functionality by providing anti-fouling protection and imparting antimicrobial properties suitable for more complex water treatment environments. In this pursuit, Abid et al [58] fabricated PES ultrafiltration membranes through a phase change method using varied concentrations of APTMS (3-Aminopropyltrimthoxysilane) modified activated carbon (mAC) (Figure 5c). The resulting mAC membranes revealed enhanced hydrophilicity, reduced contact angle, improved porosity, roughness, water retention, and heightened water flux.…”

“…The anti-fouling studies using BSA solution filtration demonstrated that the mAC membrane exhibited favorable BSA flux rates. [54], schematic diagram of PES ultrafiltration membrane prepared using the phase change method (c) [58], schematic representation of PES-Ni@UiO-66 membranes prepared using an in situ reduction reaction (d) [59], pictures of the removal of 2,4,6-TCP via HPEI/MWCNTs/Fe-Cu/PES membranes (e) [55].…”

“…Figure 5. Typical molecular structure of PES (a), schematic representation of silver leaching and anti-biofouling effect of Ag NPs-APES samples (b)[54], schematic diagram of PES ultrafiltration membrane prepared using the phase change method (c)[58], schematic representation of PES-Ni@UiO-66 membranes prepared using an in situ reduction reaction (d)[59], pictures of the removal of 2,4,6-TCP via HPEI/MWCNTs/Fe-Cu/PES membranes (e)[55].…”

ZnO nanostructure synthesis for the photocatalytic degradation of azo dye methyl orange from aqueous solutions utilizing activated carbon

“…According to Chang et al [24], adding carboxyl functional groups to the surface of activated carbon caused the carbon particles to become activated. To eliminate metal ions and other impurities, a hydrochloric solution (10% v/v) solution was fir s t used to clean the activated carbon powder for 24 hours.…”

Improved disinfection byproduct removal using a polysulfone membrane loaded with powdered activated carbon

“…To address this challenge, several studies have explored integrated PAC/polymer membranes for water treatment applications. For example, Abid et al (2022) used polyester sulfone and modified AC to prepare a UF membrane and reported that 28% carbon gave the best antibacterial performance. Using 3.6% PAC in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane improved flux and chemical oxygen demand removal (Abuabdou et al, 2021).…”