The Use of Arabic Gum as an Additive to Polysulfone Membranes

Arabic gum (AG) as an additive to the casting solutions of polysulfone (PS) was investigated in this work to increase the hydrophilicity of PS ultrafiltration membranes. Various AG loading (0.1-3.0 wt. percent) in PS/dimethylacetamide (DMAc) dope solutions were prepared to fabricate PS membranes using phase inversion technique. The hydrophilicity and surface charge density of the PS membranes surfaces with/without AG were characterized using contact angle measurement and surface charge analyzer. The PS/AG membranes were also tested in dead-end filtration (Sterlitech) experiments. The effect of adding AG to PS membranes was found to increase the permeate flux in addition to lowering the contact angle of the membranes (by up to 43 degrees) and increasing the membrane’s surface charge.

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