Title
Investigation of carboxymethyl cellulose incorporation effects on TFC membrane active layers using various supports
Authors
HANANE ABURIDEH, DJAMILA ZIOUI, SARRA HOUT, ZOUBIR BELGROUN, FATMA ZOHRA YAHIAOUI and MOHAMED ABBAS

Received July 22, 2024
Published Volume 59 Issue 1-2 January-February
Keywords TFC thin film composite membrane, cellulose acetate, polyacrylonitrile, polyethersulfone, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na), PI interfacial polymerization

Abstract
Thin film composite (TFC) membranes have been widely used in saline water treatment. However, challenges remain in their development, particularly regarding the trade-off between permeability and selectivity. This work focuses on fabricating TFC nanofiltration (NF) membranes coated with a carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC-Na) solution to address this compromise. TFC membranes are developed in several steps, starting with the formation of a support polymer layer through the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process. Interfacial polymerization (PI) was successfully performed on cellulose acetate (AC), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and polyethersulfone (PES) supports. An active layer of polyamide (PA) was obtained by the condensation reaction between piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC). The permeability and selectivity of the TFC membranes were evaluated by incorporating the CMC solution. The membranes were characterized based on their flux, hydraulic permeability, and selective permeability. The physicochemical properties of the manufactured membranes were analyzed using FTIR, water content measurements, and material transfer assessments. The TFC PAN B3 membrane exhibited the best flux and permeability, achieving values of 500 L/m².h and 24 L/m².h.bar, respectively. In contrast, the TFC PES C3 membrane demonstrated superior efficiency in rejecting Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and NaCl, with respective rejection rates of 66%, 60%, and 67%.