Anti-biofouling of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid grafted cellulose acetate membranes used for water desalination

Abstract Cellulose acetate based membranes are used for water desalination. Cellulose diacetate (CDA) was prepared from cellulose powder. Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were prepared on polyester sheets using CDA based through phase inversion technique. The structural, morphological and hydrophilic properties of the prepared membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements. The FTIR and NMR revealed the presence of the carbonyl groups and degree of substitution (DS) in CDA. Modified membranes by Grafted to improve the performance and the anti-biofouling properties of cellulose acetate reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The anti-biofouling properties were studied by measurements of static protein adsorption. The effect of grafting the membrane on the salt rejection and water flux was studied using a cross flow RO unit. The results indicated that 15 wt% of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS)Grafted membranes have lower adsorption of protein and microbes, in addition to increased salt rejection to 99.24 % and water flux to 17.12 l/m2 h.