Modified PVA-CA blend ultrafiltration membrane by alkali metal chloride

The modified PVA CA blend ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by phase inversion from the casting solutions consisting of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA), cellulose acetate(CA), acetic acid, alkali metal chloride and water. The effects of different concentration of alkali metal chloride on the properties of membranes were investigated. The results show that when the mass fraction of the salt in the casting solution is not greater than 1%, the property of rejection of the alkali metal salt modified ultrafiltration PVA CA blend membrane has little change compared with that of the unmodified PVA CA blend membrane, but the permeation flux is much greater than that of the unmodified membrane under the same operation condition. When the mass fraction of the salt is greater than 1.5%, the permeate flux increases much greater than that of the unmodified membrane, but the property of rejection of the modified ultrafiltration membrane decreases greatly. The results also show that the contact angle of the salt modified PVA CA blend UF membrane decreases but the swelling in water increases with the increment of the mass fraction of alkali metal salts. Furthermore, the NaCl modified PVA CA blend membrane has a slightly lower swelling and a little smaller contact angle of water than the KCl modified PVA CA blend membrane does when the mass fraction of salts is the same.