The permeability and mechanical properties of cellulose acetate membranes blended with polyethylene glycol 600 for treatment of municipal sewage

Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes blended with polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG 600) for treatment of municipal sewage were prepared by a Loeb-Sourirajan (L-S) phase inversion process. Cellulose acetate (CA), polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG 600) and N, N- dimethylformamide (DMF) were used as polymer, additive and solvent, respectively. The effects of additive (PEG 600) concentration on the membrane performances such as permeability and mechanical properties were investigated. The experimental results indicated that the properties of the membranes were improved due to the addition of PEG 600. The pure water flux of membranes went up with increasing of PEG 600 concentration in the casting solution. Both of the porosity and the mean pore size of the membranes blended with PEG 600 were increased compared to that of the pure cellulose acetate (CA) membranes. Due to the addition of PEG 600, the mechanical properties of membranes were also enhanced. (C) 2012 Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Asia and the Pacific and National Center of Solid Waste Management, Ministry of Environmental Protection of China.