(609a) Preparation of Polyethersulfone Membranes on Non-Woven Fabric Supports

Current commercial recycling processes for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) tend to produce inferior materials, whereas polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is hardly recycled. By developing strategies to “upcycle” these plastic wastes into non-woven fabrics, further plastic pollution can be prevented while simultaneously providing economic and societal benefits. This study investigates the interfacial science between non-woven fabrics made from recyclable material and the separation layer of the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane cast on top of these non-woven fabrics to determine how the fabrics preserve or enhance the membrane properties. Additionally, this study also investigates the effect of “green” solvents on membrane separation properties. Solvents were selected based on the evaluation of their Hansen solubility parameters, partition coefficient (LogP), and associated safety and hazard properties. The membranes were prepared by the nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method using PES in two categories of solvents: conventional and “green”. N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) were used as the conventional solvents and various glycerol-derived molecules were used as the “green” solvents. Physical characterization of each membrane’s cross-section and surface morphology were accomplished via scanning electron microscopy. A dead-end stirred filtration cell was used to evaluate the pure water permeance and molecular weight cut-off of these membranes. Contact-angle measurements were taken to determine the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of membrane surfaces.