Improved antifouling performance of polyester thin film nanofiber composite membranes prepared by interfacial polymerization

Abstract Membrane technology is becoming increasingly important to solve the global water scarcity problem because it allows an efficient, economic and environmental friendly treatment of water. However, the long-term use of a filtration membrane is limited by fouling, which reduces water production rates and increases energy consumption. In this paper, polyester thin film nanofiber composite (PE TFNC) membranes with improved antifouling performance were developed for wastewater treatment. The membranes were prepared by interfacial polymerization (IP) of bisphenol A (BPA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the surface of polysulfone electrospun nanofiber membranes (PSU ENMs). The antifouling properties of the membranes were improved by varying the polymerization reaction time. All membranes were characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), porometry and zeta potential measurements. Humic acid (HA) permeation tests were carried out to relate their physicochemical properties to their filtration and antifouling performance. The best PE TFNC membrane (polymerized for 15 min) was compared with polyester based thin film composite membranes prepared on other supports and polyamide based thin film composite membranes formed by IP of piperazine (PIP) and TMC in the presence of trimethylamine (TEA). The best PE TFNC membrane exhibited a permeability of 213.0 L/m2h.bar, two orders of magnitude greater than previously reported PE thin film composite membranes, a HA separation factor of 72.5% and an irreversible fouling factor of 10.2%.