Adsorption kinetics of polyethersulfone membrane-supported hydrogels

Abstract

This study presents the route for preparation of the membrane-supporting materials with good mechanical behavior and adsorption properties that provide functionality and are easy to use in various environments. Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane-supported hydrogels were prepared via liquid phase inversion process with photopolymerization and monomer crosslinking. The obtained membranes had asymmetric structure containing dense skin on the top of a porous hydrogel as it is verified by scanning electron microscopy. Software analysis of the pore size revealed that fine pores enabled availability of the membrane active centers to metal cations. The membranes with a higher content of the polymer showed significantly improved mechanical properties compared with commonly used ion exchange membranes, which is crucial for the wastewater treatment application. Adsorption kinetics analysis showed that the hydrogel-rich bottom layer has significantly higher adsorption ability in comparison to the top layer. Adsorption kinetics of the bottom side was described by the first-order kinetics model, whereas for the the top side, phase-boundary controlled reaction model was used.