Antifouling Membranes Based on Cellulose Acetate (CA) Blended with Poly(acrylic acid) for Heavy Metal Remediation

Fouling has been widely recognized as the Achilles’ heel of membrane processes and the growing perception about the relevance of this critical issue has driven the development of advanced antifouling strategies. Herein, novel fouling-resistant ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for Cadmium (Cd) remediation were developed via a blending method by combining the flexibility of cellulose acetate (CA) with the complex properties of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). A systematic characterization, based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), confirmed the homogeneity of the blend favored by hydrogen interconnections between CA and PAA polymeric chains. The concentration of PAA with respect to CA played a key role in tuning the morphology and the hydrophilic character of the novel UF membranes prepared via non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS). UF experiments revealed the tremendous advantages of the blend since CA/PAA membranes showed superior performance with respect to the neat CA membrane in terms of (i) water permeability; (ii) Cd rejection; and (iii) antifouling resistance to humic acid (HA). Concisely, the increasing of the concentration of PAA in the casting solution was found to be beneficial to improve the flux recovery ratio (FRR) coupled with the decline of the total fouling ratio (Rt). Overall, PAA is an effective additive to prepare CA membranes with enhanced antifouling properties exploitable for the remediation of water bodies contaminated by heavy metals via UF process.