Antifouling efficiency and high-flux ultrafiltration membrane comprising sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) and TNTs-g-PSPA nanofiller

Background: Climate change, population growth, water pollution, and mismanagement of water resources all contribute to freshwater depletion. To cleanse dirty water, efficient and long-lasting technology is required. Membrane technologies are being developed to provide a cost- effective and efficient water treatment option to meet the ever-increasing demand for high quality- water. Methods: A facile method was performed to develop outstanding hydrophilicity, fouling resistance, high rejection rate and water flux ultrafiltration (UF) membrane. The membranes were made using a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) approach by combination of sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES) and Titania nanotubes (TNTs) modified with sulfopropyl methacrylate (TNTs-g-PSPA) as a nanofiller. The fouling resistance of the fabricated membranes was explored using various foulants, comprising humic acid (HA), sodium alginate (SA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and natural organic matter (NOM) solution. Significant findings: The results revealed that the membranes surface charge concentration, porosity, and textural properties were improved. The hybrid membrane's pure water flux containing 5 wt% TNTs-g-PSPA hybrid was 402 L m⁻² h⁻¹, around 2-fold that of the pristine membrane. The fashioned membrane with 4 wt% TNTs-g-PSPA removed greater than 98% of NOM, without a rejection rate loss.