Cleanable natural-sugar-alcohol-based polyester membrane for highly efficient molecular separation

• Published in: Resources, conservation and recycling Vol. 198; p. 107149
• Main Authors: Luo, Xiongwei, Wang, Yue, Guo, Yaoli, Gao, Qieyuan, Zhao, Rui, Liu, Yanyan, Liu, Riri, Jiang, Lei, Mai, Zhaohuan, Matsuyama, Hideto, Jin, Pengrui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2023
• Subjects: Dye/salt separation; Interfacial polymerization; Loose nanofiltration membrane; Natural-sugar-alcohol; Interfacial polymerization; Loose nanofiltration membrane; Dye/salt separation; Natural-sugar-alcohol
• ISSN: 0921-3449; 1879-0658
• DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107149

•Natural-sugar-alcohols were introduced to design novel cleanable polyester loose nanofiltration membranes.•The optimized polyester Membranes with high permeability(80.63 ± 1.72 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1) provide the superior sieving ability for dyes and salts(high selectivity of 229.07).•This polyester membrane exhibited outstanding compatibility with dye-fouling cleaning agents.•This polyester membrane showed excellent antifouling performance and long-term stability. Achieving zero discharge of salt-containing dye wastewater is essential for sustainable development, which requires precise separation of organic dyes and inorganic salts. This work describes a new strategy for the preparation of cleanable polyester loose nanofiltration (LNF) membranes using inexpensive natural-sugar-alcohols (erythritol, sorbitol, and maltitol) as aqueous monomers. The resulting polyester membrane has a loose structure with hydrophilic properties and negative charge density. The optimized sorbitol/trimesoyl chloride (TMC) membranes exhibited high pure water permeability (80.63 ± 1.72 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1), a high selectivity factor for salt/dye separation at 229.07(dye rejection of 99.6 ± 0.48%, salt rejection of 8.17 ± 0.8%). Moreover, Sorbitol/TMC polyester membranes exhibit excellent compatibility with dye-fouling detergents, antifouling ability, and long-term stability. The unoptimized erythritol/TMC and maltitol/TMC membranes also exhibit high water permeability and accurate dye/salt sieving ability. The results reveal that natural-sugar-alcohol-based polyester membranes are expected to stand out in the future of salt-containing dye wastewater treatment. [Display omitted]