Fabrication of high flux and fouling resistant membrane: A unique hydrophilic blend of polyvinylidene fluoride/polyethylene glycol/polymethyl methacrylate

Abstract To overcome the fouling issue of membrane, hydrophilic membrane fabrication is a rich research domain. In this study, hydrophilic membrane was fabricated by incorporating the hydrophilic polymer into dope solution. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was blended with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (12%), polyethylene glycol (PEG) (2%), and N,N dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) solution and membranes were prepared by non-solvent induced phase separation process (NIPS). The synthesized membranes were characterized for their surface and cross-sectional morphology, crystallinity, chemical composition, hydrophilicity, pore size, porosity, permeability, pollutant retention, and fouling resistance. The addition of only PEG to PVDF and PMMA to PVDF increased the porosity, pore size and hydrophilicity of the membrane. Whereas, a combination of both PEG (2%) and PMMA (1%) into PVDF further increased the hydrophilicity (contact angle 60°) and porosity (90%) of the membrane. The maximum pure water flux (PWF) (565 LMH) was also recorded with PVDF-PEG-PMMA membrane without compromising the humic acid (HA) retention rate (80%). Moreover, flux recovery ratio of PVDF-PEG-PMMA membrane was more than 80% with hydraulic flushing. The combination of PEG and PMMA proved to be very effective for improving the properties of PVDF membrane resulting in better flux and antifouling potential of the membrane.