Effect of Surface Modification with Electrospun Nanofibers on the Performance of the Ultrafiltration Membrane

Abstract

Membrane surface modification is often utilized to combat membrane fouling, i.e., the deterioration of membrane performance with time. Among many modification methods, the effect of coating the surface of a commercial membrane with electrospun nanofibers on the membrane performance has received little attention. In this work, a commercial polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membrane was modified by electrospinning PVDF hydrophobic nanofibers for different time periods, i.e., 25min, 125min, and 250min, and its effect on the filtration performance was investigated. It was found that coating with the electrospun nanofiber layer enhanced the pure water permeation (PWP) flux. While the fouling of electrospun PES (EPES) membranes was more severe when they filtered Ottawa River (OR) Water or protein solutions, their final flux was still higher than that of the PES membrane. The membranes were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurement and pore size and pore size distribution. The relationship between these characteristics and the membrane performance was discussed.