Effect of Transmembrane Pressure on Antifouling Properties of PVC/Clinoptilolite Ultrafiltration Nanocomposite Membranes, By Habib Etemadi

Research

Title	Effect of Transmembrane Pressure on Antifouling Properties of PVC/Clinoptilolite Ultrafiltration Nanocomposite Membranes
Type	Article
Keywords	Antifouling, Clinoptilolite nanoparticles, Hydrophilicity, PVC membranes, Transmembrane pressure
Researchers	Habib Etemadi، Rozita Kazemi، Naser Ghasemian، Elham Shokri

Abstract

Novel polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/clinoptilolite nanocomposite membranes for water treatment were fabricated by non-solvent-induced phase separation and characterized with respect to their hydrophilicity, porosity, surface roughness, thermal stability, and surface and cross-sectional morphology. All prepared membranes were evaluated in a submerged system for the removal of humic acid (HA) under various vacuum transmembrane pressure (TMP) conditions. The hydrophilicity, porosity, and thermal stability of the membranes were increased by the addition of 0.5 wt % clinoptilolite nanoparticles. A larger macrovoid appeared when clinoptilolite nanoparticles were added to the PVC membrane. Higher TMP leads to serious fouling and the formation of a thicker foulant layer on the membrane surface as well as less removal of HA.