Optimization of Polymeric Membrane Characteristics through Thermal Treatment and Deposition of Polyelectrolyte Layers Using Response Surface Modeling

ABSTRACTImprovement in polyethersulfone membrane performance by employing thermal treatment and deposition of polyelectrolyte layers was proposed. High molecular weight polyelectrolytes were used in the formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers in the presence of various concentrations of supporting electrolyte. Interactions between the membrane thermal treatment duration and salt concentration in a polyelectrolyte solution were evaluated and optimized using response surface methodology. The predictive models showed good fittings between the experimental and model predicted values, which confirmed the precision and reliability of the regression models. Confirmation run was conducted using the thermal treatment duration of 17.07 min and 1.70 M of the supporting electrolyte concentration in the polyelectrolyte solution. The pure water permeability, NaCl rejection, MgSO4 rejection, Na2SO4 rejection, selectivity of NaCl/Na2SO4, and selectivity of MgSO4/Na2SO4 obtained were 6.51 L⋅m−2⋅h−1⋅bar−1, 45.41%, 69.14%, 85.79%, 3.84, and 2.17, respectively.