Fouling mitigation of microcrystalline cellulose-blended poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes in protein separation

ABSTRACT

Modifications of polymeric membranes are necessary to improve the membrane characteristics. The composite membrane of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)_Microcrystalline cellulose (PVDF_MCC) was prepared using dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) as co-solvent to dissolve the MCC in the casting solution. The prepared membrane was characterized by using the FTIR, SEM, contact angle, and the water permeates flux. The improvement of hydrophilicity and pore structure with the incorporation of MCC was observed which led to the increment of the water and permeate flux. Indication from the rheological study suggested that the casting solutions with MCC presented the influence on the composite membrane’s pore structure as a significant viscosity increment was observed. This can be examined from the larger pore and elongated finger-like structure of the membrane morphology compared to the pristine membrane. The rejection rate of the protein increased from 85% to 97% after the incorporation of MCC in the PVDF membrane. The utilization of a low-cost and environmentally friendly additive that MCC has to offer helps to improve the antifouling properties of PVDF membranes for the efficient removal of BSA in water.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Microcrystalline cellulose
• DMAc/LiCl co-solvent
• cellulose dissolution
• membrane fabrication
• blending

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declarations

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by the Post-Doctoral and USM Fellowship program by Universiti Sains Malaysia.