| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 623731 | Desalination | 2013 | 7 Pages |
•A new method was invented to prepare PVA-co-PE nanofiber and membrane.•The membrane possesses properties of hydrophilic, high flux and large porosity.•The membrane has better performances compared with commercial membrane.•The rejection rate of the membranes to TiO2 suspension (100 nm) was above 99%.•Cake layer was the main reason causing the membrane fouling.
A novel high performance hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) nanofiber membrane for filtration media was prepared and characterized in this study. The PVA-co-PE nanofibers for the membrane preparation were fabricated based on a high throughput, cost effective and environmental friendly method developed by us. The basic properties of PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane and commercially available membrane (mixed cellulose ester membrane) including morphology, pore size distribution, contact angle, mechanics, water flux and filtration efficiency were investigated. The rejection rate of PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane (nanofiber density is 3 g/m2) to TiO2 suspension was above 99%, and such unique hydrophilic nanofibrous membrane exhibited a flux rate significantly higher than the commercial microfiltration membrane. The results indicated that PVA-co-PE nanofibrous membrane prepared by this method was a hydrophilic and high performance membrane which could be used in the microfiltration fields.
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