title: Influence of extreme concentrations of hydrophilic pore-former on reinforced polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes for reduction of humic acid fouling.
abstract: To address the issue of membrane fouling by ubiquitous humic substances, a hydrophilic pore-former-blended polyethersulfone UF membrane was successfully synthesized via the phase inversion method. For the first time, extremely high concentrations of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), up to 20 wt%, were tested as the hydrophilic pore-former in order to determine the optimum concentration for humic acid fouling. Intrinsic membrane parameters such as permeability and selectivity were evaluated using a cross-flow UF filtration setup. Interestingly, as little as 1 wt% added PVP can significantly improve membrane permeability. That tiny amount of added PVP increased membrane flux to 1107 L/m2h·bar from zero flux, with over 90% rejection of humic acid. In addition, pure water permeation increased to over 2400 L/m2h·bar without sacrificing humic acid rejection (around 90%) when 10 wt% PVP was added; pure water permeation decreased to around 1000 L/m2h·bar as added PVP was increased to 20 wt%. The order of water flux increased with the amount of added PVP up to 20 wt% during humic acid fouling while maintaining membrane selectivity. However, the membrane with 10 wt% added PVP showed the best fouling resistance in terms of flux recovery ratio (98%), total flux loss, reversible fouling ratio, and irreversible fouling ratio. Therefore, the addition of 10 wt% PVP is recommended considering cleaning efficiency and the moderately high flux during humic acid fouling for field operation in wastewater reclamation and water treatment processes.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Center for Membranes, Advanced Materials Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-600, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Moon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hayoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Gwangju Science Academy for the Gifted, 215 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Junhyeok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Gwangju Science Academy for the Gifted, 215 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sungsoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Center for Membranes, Advanced Materials Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-600, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hcchoi@gist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Heechul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006812:Humic Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010539:Permeability; D011108:Polymers; D011205:Povidone / Q000737:chemistry; D013450:Sulfones; D014462:Ultrafiltration / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006812:Humic Substances; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011108:Polymers; D011205:Povidone; D013450:Sulfones; D062065:Wastewater; C022840:polyether sulfone
keywords: Humic acid; Membrane; Polyethersulfone; Polyvinylpyrrolidone; Ultrafiltration