Modification of Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane Using Poly(terephthalic acid-co-glycerol-g-maleic anhydride) as Novel Pore Former

Ali A Abbas Aljanabi; Noor Edin Mousa; Mustafa M Aljumaily; Hasan Sh Majdi; Ali Amer Yahya; Mohammad N Al-Baiati; Noor Hashim; Khaild T Rashid; Saad Al-Saadi; Qusay F Alsalhy

doi:10.3390/polym14163408

Modification of Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane Using Poly(terephthalic acid-co-glycerol-g-maleic anhydride) as Novel Pore Former

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Aug 20;14(16):3408. doi: 10.3390/polym14163408.

Affiliations

¹ Al-Mussaib Technical College, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Babylon 51009, Iraq.
² Membrane Technology Research Unit, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Technology-Iraq, Alsena'a Street No. 52, B. O. 35010, Baghdad 10066, Iraq.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, Al-Maarif University College, Al-Ramadi 31001, Iraq.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Industries, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon 51001, Iraq.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Kerbala, Holly Kerbala 56001, Iraq.
⁶ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.

Abstract

In this research, poly terephthalic acid-co-glycerol-g-maleic anhydride (PTGM) graft co-polymer was used as novel water-soluble pore formers for polyethersulfone (PES) membrane modification. The modified PES membranes were characterized to monitor the effect of PTGM content on their pure water flux, hydrophilicity, porosity, morphological structure, composition, and performance. PTGM and PES/PTGM membranes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and contact angle (CA). The results revealed that the porosity and hydrophilicity of the fabricated membrane formed using a 5 wt.% PTGM ratio exhibited an enhancement of 20% and 18%, respectively. Similarly, upon raising the PTGM ratio in the casting solution, a more porous with longer finger-like structure was observed. However, at optimum PTGM content (i.e., 5%), apparent enhancements in the water flux, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and sodium alginate (SA) retention were noticed by values of 203 L/m².h (LMH), 94, and 96%, respectively. These results illustrated that the observed separation and permeation trend of the PES/PTGM membrane may be a suitable option for applications of wastewater treatment. The experimental results suggest the promising potential of PTGM as a pore former on the membrane properties and performance.

Keywords: bovine serum albumin; poly(terephthalic acid-co-glycerol-g-maleic anhydride); polyethersulfone; pore former; sodium alginate; ultrafiltration membrane; water-soluble.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.