Performance Investigation of PSF-nAC Composite Ultrafiltration Membrane for Protein Separation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are crucial for wastewater treatment but suffer from fouling and reduced water flux.
• Enhancing UF membrane performance is essential for efficient and sustainable water purification.
• Nano-activated carbon (nAC) presents a viable additive for improving membrane properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize composite polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration membranes incorporating nano-activated carbon (nAC).
• To evaluate the impact of varying nAC concentrations (0-8 wt.%) on membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, and performance.
• To assess the effect of nAC on pure water flux, protein separation, and pore size characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of PSF/nAC composite membranes using nAC powder at different weight percentages.
• Characterization of membrane properties including morphology, hydrophilicity (contact angle), pure water flux, equilibrium water content, porosity, and average pore size.
• Evaluation of membrane performance in protein (lysozyme) separation.

Main Results:

• Incorporation of nAC enhanced membrane hydrophilicity, reducing the contact angle from 69° to 58° (8 wt.% nAC).
• Membranes with 6 wt.% nAC exhibited the highest pure water flux, nearly tripling at 2 bar.
• nAC addition improved lysozyme rejection by up to 40% without compromising overall protein separation.

Conclusions:

• Nano-activated carbon effectively enhances the performance of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes.
• Optimized nAC concentration can significantly improve water flux and separation efficiency.
• These findings provide guidance for developing advanced UF membranes for wastewater treatment.