The Effects of Type and Concentration of Additives on The Characteristics of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) Membranes

• Main Author: Khoerunnisa
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Kimia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/37923
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Membrane technology has been used as an alternative for separation, concentration and purification processes in many industries. One of polymeric materials used for membrane synthesis in recent years is poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). It has benefits among other polymers due to its high thermal stability and chemical resistance. PVDF membranes were prepared via phase inversion technique with N-N-dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) as solvent and water as non-solvent. This study aims to study the effects of type and concentration of additives on the membrane characteristics. Two types of additives were used, namely polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) which compositions were varied between 5% to 15% w/w. Membranes were characterized by analyzing the membrane permeability, selectivity, hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, membrane structure and morphology. Membranes permeation were evaluated in term of water flux and the addition of PVP resulted in higher water flux up to 440.25 L h-1 m-2 at 15% w/w. The results also showed that for both additives, the water flux increased with the increasing composition of additives. Membranes selectivity were evaluated in term of rejection coefficient using two dextrans having molecular masses of 500 kDa and 2000 kDa. Higher selectivity was achieved using PEG than PVP as additive. Highest strain value was obtained by adding 10% w/w for both additives. Membrane morphology observed through SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) showed that the membranes had asymmetric structure regardless of type of additives used in this study.