A positively charged loose nanofiltration membrane fabricated through complexing of alginate and polyethyleneimine with metal ions on the polyamideimide support for dye desalination

Abstract Nowadays, loose nanofiltration (NF) membranes are preferred for dye desalination to achieve high dye/salt selectivity and enable filtration at low operating pressure. However, current fabrication techniques require rigorous reaction conditions and long preparation times. Herein, we used the chelating ability of the polyethyleneimine (PEI) and alginate with the metal ions to fabricate loose NF membranes via a facile approach. The positively charged polyamide imide (PAI)/PEI support was used to build the assembly. Direct attachment of Zn or Fe ions to the PEI chains did not result in a stable complex in the presence of a high salt concentration (1000 ppm NaCl). On the other hand, alginate coated on the support allowed building permanent assemblies after crosslinked with Fe3+ and Zn2+ transition metal ions. The PAI/PEI-Alg-Fe3+ membrane exhibited the highest permeability, excellent antifouling behaviour upon exposure to synthetic textile wastewater, and maintained long-term stability under static and dynamic conditions. Also, the same membrane rejected dyes and coloured substances in real wastewater sample during 72 h continuous filtration. With alginate metal complex formation on a suitable support, a scalable loose NF membrane was manufactured, demonstrating improved throughput value compared to current NF membranes.