Exploration of advanced cellulosic material for membrane filtration with outstanding antifouling property

Membranes, at times, have issues due to membrane fouling. The membrane fouling leads to performance deterioration and poses a potential to clog the membrane. Here we present experimental works carried out with emphasis on the antifouling properties, chlorine resistance, and mechanical properties of cellulose triacetate (CTA) and cellulose esters. We present that antifouling performance of cellulose esters evaluated by means of the VCG theory decreases with increasing carbon number in the substituent because of the high electron-donating nature of short aliphatic ester groups. When a long aliphatic ester group is required in terms of other properties such as resistance to chlorine, introducing it together with another substituent with an electron-donating nature such as an ethylene glycol moiety may strike a balance between antifouling and other performances.