A novel methodology to finetune polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes utilizing oil/water emulsion separation has been reported by Prof. Irshad Kammakakam and his collaborators from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. They have developed the synthesis of a novel carboxylate-terminated hyperbranched polyethylenimine (CHPEI) using a facile three-step one-pot strategy to enhance the characteristics of PVDF membranes for oil/water emulsion separation. The incorporation of CHPEI into PVDF positively enhanced the hydrophilicity, and the WCA was significantly reduced from 80.6° to 59.5°. The maximum permeation flux was obtained using CHPEI-3-PVDF membranes, which was 200 % more than that obtained using pristine PVDF. The CHPEI-2-PVDF membranes exhibited a rejection performance of >99 % for separating oil-in-water emulsions. The incorporation of CHPEI into PVDF significantly improved the antifouling characteristics of the membranes. CHPEI has demonstrated a considerable positive influence in improving the PVDF membrane’s performance, making it an excellent candidate for oily wastewater treatment because of its high rejection performance and excellent flux recovery ratio.
To read more about the paper, please click this https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128628
To read more about the paper, please click this https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128628