Title
Impact of poly (sodium-4-styrene sulfonate) concentration on cellulose triacetate based membrane structure and performance
Authors
SOFIANE BENSADI, YASSINE BERBAR, MOURAD AMARA, OMAR AROUS, HIBA FERHAT and FAIROUZ SAAD SAOUD

Received June 25, 2025
Published Volume 60 Issue 1-2 January-February
Keywords membrane, PSS, CTA, polymer dispersion, D2EHPA

Abstract
This work investigated the effects of using poly(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as a novel polymer additive on cellulose triacetate-based membranes (CTA), applied for the treatment of saline solutions containing Na+, K+, and Ca2+ ions. New membranes composed of a mixture of CTA, PSS with different concentrations and di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as a plasticizer, were elaborated. The dialysis process was used for evaluating the impact of PSS concentration on the membranes’ performance, using both synthetic saline and seawater solutions. Various physical properties of the membranes were highlighted by different characterization techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Characterization results showed that PSS integrated into the membrane matrix can act as a morphology modifier by pushing D2EHPA from the inside to the surface of the membrane. Application results indicated that the transfer efficiencies increased with higher amounts of PSS in the membrane. The highest removal efficiencies observed were 49.74%, 44.39%, and 3.74% for K+, Ca2+and Na+ ions, respectively, using synthetic solutions. For seawater solutions, the removal efficiencies were slightly lower: at 33.58%, 29.95%, and 2.20% for K+, Ca2+ and Na+ ions, respectively. The membrane with PSS effectively promotes the removal of ions, leading to a reduction in conductivity, salinity, and TDS.