Crosslinked chitosan-modified ultrafiltration membranes for efficient surface water treatment and enhanced anti-fouling performances

Abstract

To overcome the shortcomings of traditional water treatment technology, ultrafiltration (UF) technology has become a widely used process in the advanced treatment of drinking water, but the existing process has low flux, surface hydrophobicity, easy compaction and other shortcomings. In this study, green chitosan (CS) crosslinking modified UF membrane strategy is adopted to improve its anti-fouling and sustainable reuse in water treatment applications. In addition, modified UF achieved much better separation performances in treating natural surface water. By regulating the crosslinking reaction between CS and glutaraldehyde (GA), modified membranes with different concentrations of CS were prepared, and their structures and chemical properties were characterized. Humic acid was used as the model foulant to study the antifouling behaviors of the CS-coated UF membrane, and the anti-fouling mechanism was analyzed the crosslinking modification strategy of CS-GA provides a new way to alleviate the pollution of UF membrane.

Keywords

• chitosan
• ultrafiltration membrane
• surface water
• natural organic matter
• anti-fouling performance