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. 2022 May 7;14(9):1908.
doi: 10.3390/polym14091908.

Functionalization of PEG-AgNPs Hybrid Material to Alleviate Biofouling Tendency of Polyethersulfone Membrane

Afrillia Fahrina  1   2 , Nasrul Arahman  2   3   4   5 , Sri Aprilia  2   3 , Muhammad Roil Bilad  6 , Silmina Silmina  2 , Widia Puspita Sari  2 , Indah Maulana Sari  2 , Poernomo Gunawan  7 , Mehmet Emin Pasaoglu  8   9 , Vahid Vatanpour  8   9   10 , Ismail Koyuncu  8 , Saeid Rajabzadeh  11
Affiliations

Functionalization of PEG-AgNPs Hybrid Material to Alleviate Biofouling Tendency of Polyethersulfone Membrane

Afrillia Fahrina et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Membrane-based processes are a promising technology in water and wastewater treatments, to supply clean and secure water. However, during membrane filtration, biofouling phenomena severely hamper the performance, leading to permanent detrimental impacts. Moreover, regular chemical cleaning is ineffective in the long-run for overcoming biofouling, because it weakens the membrane structure. Therefore, the development of a membrane material with superior anti-biofouling performance is seen as an attractive option. Hydrophilic-anti-bacterial precursor polyethylene glycol-silver nanoparticles (PEG-AgNPs) were synthesized in this study, using a sol-gel method, to mitigate biofouling on the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane surface. The functionalization of the PEG-AgNP hybrid material on a PES membrane was achieved through a simple blending technique. The PES/PEG-AgNP membrane was manufactured via the non-solvent induced phase separation method. The anti-biofouling performance was experimentally measured as the flux recovery ratio (FRR) of the prepared membrane, before and after incubation in E. coli culture for 48 h. Nanomaterial characterization confirmed that the PEG-AgNPs had hydrophilic-anti-bacterial properties. The substantial improvements in membrane performance after adding PEG-AgNPs were evaluated in terms of the water flux and FRR after the membranes experienced biofouling. The results showed that the PEG-AgNPs significantly increased the water flux of the PES membrane, from 2.87 L·m-2·h-1 to 172.84 L·m-2·h-1. The anti-biofouling performance of the PES pristine membrane used as a benchmark showed only 1% FRR, due to severe biofouling. In contrast, the incorporation of PEG-AgNPs in the PES membrane decreased live bacteria by 98%. It enhanced the FRR of anti-biofouling up to 79%, higher than the PES/PEG and PES/Ag membranes.

Keywords: anti-bacterial; anti-biofouling; hybrid materials; membranes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest or personal relationships that could appear to have influenced the study reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comprehensive schematic diagram of additive and membrane preparation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TEM image of the PEG-AgNPs under different magnifications.
Figure 3
Figure 3
FTIR spectra (a) and anti-bacterial performance (b) of the PEG-AgNPs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
FTIR analysis of the membranes’ surface.
Figure 5
Figure 5
EDS elemental identification for Pag (a) and PPAg3 (b) membranes; topology of PPAg3 membrane surface (c).
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM images of membrane morphological structure.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM images of membrane morphological structure.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Membrane porosity and pore diameter (a); water uptake rate and clean water flux (b).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Membrane selectivity performance.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Anti-bacterial determination of the membrane surface (a), and anti-biofouling performance of membranes, in terms of flux recovery and flux decline (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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