Application of AMC UF membranes blended with hydrophilic CA-graft copolymer for rejection of Fe(II)/(III) ions using various ligands

Abstract

Acetylated methyl cellulose (AMC) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes blended with hydrophilic cellulose acetate (CA)-based graft copolymers have been fabricated and evaluated for the removal of iron ions in aqueous solution using various ligands, Citric Acid (CiA), humic Acid (HA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). This work shows AMC/CA-g-(GMA-g-PEG) blend membranes with improved hydrophilicity and chlorine resistance can be successfully used to remove metal ions through the formation of metal chelates. A high iron rejection (99%) was observed in the HA-Fe2+/3+ complex ions due to strong affinity towards metal-cations than CiA-Fe2+/3+ and PEI-Fe2+/3+ (attained 90% rejection) for AMC blend membrane.