Thin-film composite nanofiltration membranes with improved acid stability prepared from naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonylchloride (NTSC) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC)

Thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes with improved acid stability were fabricated through the interfacial polymerization of trimesoyl chloride (TMC) naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonylchloride (NTSC), and piperazine (PIP) on a porous polysulfone support membrane by varying the NTSC content in TMC-organic solution. The physico-chemical characteristics of the membranes were analyzed by ATR-FTIR, streaming potential measurement and surface contact angle measurement, the permeation properties were evaluated through cross-flow permeation tests, and the acid stability was investigated through both static acid soaking tests and long-term permeation tests under acidic condition. It was found that, as the NTSC content in TMC-organic solution increased, the membrane surface became more hydrophilic and negatively charged, the pure water permeability and molecular weight cut-off of the formed NF membrane increased from 5.5 to 10.6 l/m(2) h bar and about 360 to 660 Da, respectively, while the rejection rate to Na2SO4 firstly increased from 98.2 to 98.7% and then declined to a lower value of 97.8%. After soaking in 8 w/v% H2SO4 for 30 days or filtration with 4.9 w/v% H2SO4 for 60 days, the TFC membranes prepared from TMC and NTSC showed little performance change, while serious performance deterioration occurred with the TFC membrane prepared from TMC. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.