Abstract
Many materials traditionally used for polymeric membrane fabrication incur significant environmental impacts and limit sustainability of the process; therefore, more eco-friendly materials are needed in membrane fabrication. In this study, recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) and a solvent blend of Rhodiasolv® PolarClean (PolarClean) and gamma-valerolactone (GVL) were used as eco-friendly materials to fabricate polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration membranes. The calculated Hansen solubility parameter affinity and relative energy difference values for PET and PolarClean-GVL of 6.94 and 0.86, respectively, indicate favorable dissolution to create the preceding dope solution. At a baseline evaporation time of 30 s, the resulting rPET-PSf/PolarClean-GVL membranes outperformed the filtration capabilities of PSf/NMP membranes with 3.5% higher permeability (23.4 LMH/bar) and 53.2% greater rejection (84.9%) of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Increasing the evaporation time to 60 s resulted in a 32.4 LMH/bar decrease in permeability and 0.8% increase in BSA rejection, whereas decreasing the evaporation time to 0 s generally led to a 235.8 LMH/bar increase in permeability and 4% increase in BSA rejection. The findings indicate the potential for eco-friendly materials to serve as alternatives for traditional materials in polymeric membranes.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e52823 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Polymer Science |
Volume | 139 |
Issue number | 35 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 15 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Keywords
- blends
- membranes
- recycling
- synthesis and processing techniques
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Polymers and Plastics
- Materials Chemistry