Enhanced Anti-Fouling Behavior and Performance of PES Membrane by UV Treatment

An easy method to prepare hydrophilic PES membranes with anti-fouling properties wasdeveloped by UV-polymerization of poly vinyl pirrolidone (PVP) on membrane surfaces. Themodified membrane surfaces were analyzed by ATR-FTIR, and the new hydrophilic nature of themembranes was determined by contact angle measurements. The novel membranes were preparedusing Rhodiasolv® Polarclean as a green solvent and compared with a control PES membrane,without the exposure at the hydrophilization procedure. The influences of the UV lamp distance (15and 30 cm) and the exposure time (0 cm to 60 cm) were evaluated. All membranes werecharacterized in terms of surface morphology, porosity, pore size, and pure water permeability(PWP). The treated membranes resulted in an increase in hydrophilicity and in improvedperformances in terms of PWP and foulant rejection. In particular, an anti-fouling test wasperformed using a solution of 100 mg/L of humic acid (HA) as a model foulant. The UV-treatedmembrane efficiency, compared with a commercial PES membrane, showed a recovery of about97%, confirming that these membranes can be applied in wastewater treatment.