Preparation and characterization of polysulfone and modified poly isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride blend NF membrane

Recently nanofiltration (NF) is gaining more importance for water treatment. It is replacing the conventional method of water treatment due to advantages of NF membranes over RO system. In this work, we are discussing the preparation of NF membrane for desalination of sea water. We herein report the synthesis of polymer, by the reaction of p-amino benzoic acid (PABA) and poly isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride (PIAM) and its blend membrane preparation with polysulfone (PSf). The new membranes were characterized by SEM images, surface wettability to investigate the hydrophilic nature of the membrane, water swelling, pure water flux, molecular weight cut-off and salt rejection of the membranes. The membranes showed nano size (<50 nm) pores in SEM image, and the contact angle data revealed that membrane surface is moderately hydrophilic. Membrane with 70:30 (PSf:modified PIAM) composition has shown good salt rejection of 96% at 200 kPa for 3500 ppm of NaCl solution with a pure water flux of 38.36 Lm(-2) h(-1). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.