Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Cellulose Nanocrystals/Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Membrane for Nanofiltration Applications

Abstract

Nanocellulose, as an emerging nanoscale material with important physical and chemical properties, is intended for a variety of applications that go beyond the applications seen in industrial composites. The nanocomposite membrane of thin film cellulose nanocrystalline/polyamide film for nanofiltration applications was made by interfacial polymerization. The characteristics of the membrane synthesized by scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy were analyzed. The function of the membrane made on the solution of sodium sulfate salts (Na2SO4) and magnesium chloride (MgCl2) was investigated using the Central Compound Design method. The correlation coefficient of the computational model (R-Sq adj) for salt excretion of Na2SO4 and MgCl2 was obtained to be equal to 99.67% and 86.89%, respectively, which indicates the good compatibility of computational models with experimental points, and the high accuracy of the models. The results of the statistical analysis showed that, with increasing CNC concentration to intermediate level (0.05 %Wt), fluid flow to intermediate level (2.25 lit/min) and pressure to high level (10 bar), the highest rejection percentage of Na2SO4 and MgCl2 salts was 93.44 and 79.52%, respectively.

Keywords

• membrane
• nanocomposite
• cellulose nanocrystalline
• nanofiltration
• fouling
• experimental design