Al Marri Saeed H, Manawi Yehia, Simson Simjo, Lawler Jenny, Kochkodan Viktor
Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jan 13;17(2):176. doi: 10.3390/polym17020176.
The development of ultrafiltration (UF) polymeric membranes with high flux and enhanced antifouling properties bridges a critical gap in the polymeric membrane fabrication research field. In the present work, the preparation of novel PES membranes incorporated with carrageenan (CAR), which is a natural polymer derived from edible red seaweed, is reported for the first time. The PES/CAR membranes were prepared by using the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method at 0.1-4.0 wt.% CAR loadings in the casting solutions. The use of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), which is a bio-based and low-toxic solvent, is reported. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, water contact angle, porosity, and zeta potential measurements were used to evaluate the surface morphology, structure, pore size, hydrophilicity, and surface charge of the prepared membranes. The filtration performance of PES/CAR membranes was tested with bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions. It was shown that CAR incorporation in the casting solutions notably increased hydrophilicity, porosity, pore size, surface charge, and fouling resistance of the prepared membranes compared with plain PES membranes due to the hydrophilic nature and pore-forming properties of CAR. The PES/CAR membranes showed a significant reduction in irreversible and total fouling during filtration of BSA solutions by 38% and 32%, respectively, an enhancement in the flux recovery ratio by 20-40%, and an improvement in mechanical properties by 1.5-fold when compared with plain PES membranes. The findings of the present study indicate that CAR can be used as a promising additive for the development of PES UF membranes with enhanced properties and performance for water treatment applications.
开发具有高通量和增强抗污染性能的超滤（UF）聚合物膜填补了聚合物膜制造研究领域的一个关键空白。在本工作中，首次报道了制备掺入角叉菜胶（CAR）的新型聚醚砜（PES）膜，角叉菜胶是一种源自可食用红海藻的天然聚合物。通过在浇铸溶液中加入0.1 - 4.0 wt.%的CAR，采用非溶剂诱导相分离（NIPS）法制备了PES/CAR膜。报道了使用二甲基亚砜（DMSO），它是一种生物基低毒溶剂。利用扫描电子显微镜、原子力显微镜、水接触角、孔隙率和zeta电位测量来评估所制备膜的表面形态、结构、孔径、亲水性和表面电荷。用牛血清白蛋白（BSA）溶液测试了PES/CAR膜的过滤性能。结果表明，由于CAR具有亲水性和成孔特性，在浇铸溶液中掺入CAR显著提高了所制备膜的亲水性、孔隙率、孔径、表面电荷和抗污染性。与纯PES膜相比，PES/CAR膜在过滤BSA溶液时不可逆污染和总污染分别显著降低了38%和32%，通量恢复率提高了20 - 40%，机械性能提高了1.5倍。本研究结果表明，CAR可作为一种有前景的添加剂，用于开发具有增强性能和性能的PES超滤膜，用于水处理应用。
