Modification of Thin Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane By Sulfonation of Polyethersulfone Substrate

In this study, sulfonated polyethersulfone (spes) was prepared by homogeneous method with chlorosulfonic acid as sulfonating agent and concentrated sulfuric acid as solvent and then spes membranes were prepared with phase inversion induced by immersion precipitation technique# spes has been synthesized for developing high performance thin film composite (tfc) forward osmosis (fo) membranes with enhanced hydrophilic support layer# polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp, 2 wt% concentration) was added in the casting solution as pore former# the effects of the sulfonation method on the sulfonated polyethersulfone (pes) substrate, hydrophilicity and water permeability were investigated and discussed# also, the hydrophilicity of prepared spes membranes were characterized by contact angle# the contact angle measurements indicate that the hydrophilicity of pes membrane is enhanced by sulfonation method# compared with the typical tfc-pes, the tfc-spes membranes prepared always demonstrated much higher fo water flux without showing a significant increase in reverse solute flux when tested under same conditions using 2 m nacl as a draw solution and 10 mm nacl as feed solution#