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Preparation of hydrophilic modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes by polymer/non-solvent co-induced phase separation: effect of coagulation bath temperature

  • Xiaoming Zhang , Qingchen Lu and Nana Li EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: January 4, 2022
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Abstract

Membrane separation technology is widely used in wastewater purification, but the issue of membrane fouling could not be ignored. Hydrophilic modification is an effective method to reduce membrane fouling. Therefore, in this work, a hydrophilic modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane was prepared by polymer/non-solvent co-induced phase separation, and the effect of coagulation bath temperature on the membrane structure and performance was systematically investigated based on the previous study. With the increased of the coagulation bath temperature, the phase separation process changed from delayed to instantaneous, and the membrane surface changed from porous to dense, while the macropore structures and sponge-like pores appeared on the cross-section. Meanwhile, the pure water flux decreased from 229.3 L/(m2·h) to 2.08 L/(m2·h), the protein rejection rate increased from 83.87% to 100%, and the surface water contact angle increased from 63° to 90°. Thus, excessively high coagulation bath temperature adversely affected the permeate and separation performance, as well as antifouling performance of the membrane. This study enriched the research for preparing separation membranes by polymer/non-solvent co-induced phase separation and provided a practical and theoretical reference for controlling the membrane structure and properties by changing the coagulation bath temperature.


Corresponding author: Nana Li, School of Textiles Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China; and State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China, E-mail:

Award Identifier / Grant number: 18JCZDJC37000

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: The authors are grateful for financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (grant number: 18JCZDJC37000).

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-08-18
Accepted: 2021-11-23
Published Online: 2022-01-04
Published in Print: 2022-03-28

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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