Improved separation of dyes and proteins using membranes made of polyphenylsulfone/cellulose acetate or acetate phthalate

Industrial wastewater often contains xenobiotics such as heavy metals, dyes and proteins, yet there is a lack of efficient cleaning methods. Therefore, here we fabricated hollow fiber membranes using polyphenylsulfone containing 1, 3 and 5 wt% of cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate phthalate by non-solvent induced phase separation. Membrane morphology was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The hydrophilicity of the membranes was measured by contact angle, water uptake and porosity measurement. The thermal miscibility of the membrane with additives was assessed by thermogravimetric analysis. Hollow fiber membranes were tested for separation of azo dyes, e.g., reactive orange 16 and reactive black 5, and of proteins: bovine serum albumin, egg albumin and pepsin. Results show increasing rejection of dyes and proteins with the content of cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate phthalate. Water permeability was 41.26 L/m 2 h bar for the polyphenylsulfone membrane, 64.47 L/m 2 h bar for the polyphenylsulfone/5 wt% cellulose acetate membrane and 72.60 L/m 2 h bar for the polyphenylsulfone/5 wt% cellulose acetate phthalate membrane.