Effect of PVP concentration on prepared PEI membranes for potential use on water treatment: Effect of additive on membranes prepared for water treatment

In this work, a series of polyetherimide (PEI) flat sheet membranes were produced with different concentrations of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) addition via the phase inversion method. The effects of additions on membrane morphology and performance were investigated. Synthesized membrane had the properties of ultrafiltration membrane. Although PEI is not widely used for water treatment, in this study, the ferrous iron removal rate was investigated and good results were obtained. Through the membrane production experiments, the PEI content was 22 wt%. PVP was added as a poreforming agent with concentrations of 2, 4 and 8 wt%. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was used as solvent. Distilled water was used for the coagulation bath. After production, all membranes were characterized by using contact angle, permeability, porosity, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT/IR) analyses. With the increasing doses of PVP addition, the permeability of the PEI membranes produced in this study increased, while porosity results were changeable. The permeability was 23 L/m² h bar for the membrane with 2 wt% PVP content, while the permeability for the membrane with 8 wt% PVP content was 32 L/m² h bar. Contact angles increased with PVP addition to PEI membranes. With the increasing PVP concentration, the finger-like pores and the pores located in the sub-layer expanded.