Fabrication of PVC/modified clay mixed matrix membranes with enhanced antifouling properties

Ultrafiltration (UF) membrane plays an important role in separation techniques such as water and wastewater treatment. Membrane fouling is the primary limitation of UF membrane that leads to flux decline. Increasing the membrane hydrophilicity is the main concern by numerous researchers in order to improve antifouling properties of membranes. Mixed matrix membranes have garnered considerable interest among researchers1,2. In mixed matrix membranes, the polymer acts as a matrix for the nano dimension inorganic additives and the interaction between these two materials led to variations in the structure and performance of membranes. Modified clay due to low cost can be a suitable additive for polymeric membranes. In this work, influence of modified clay on antifouling performance of poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) mixed matrix ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. Non-solvent induced phase separation method was applied to prepare neat and modified clay embedded membranes. Different amounts of modified clays were used. BSA fouling results in Fig.1 show that mixed matrix membranes can improve the fouling resistance of PVC membranes.

Keywords:

Ultrafiltration , PVC , Modified clay , fouling , mixed matrix membrane