A novel green solvent-assisted strategy using Cyrene™ for PLA/PVA blend membrane fabrication in water treatment applications

초록

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) membranes have garnered considerable attention as promising candidates for separation technologies due to their biodegradable and environmentally benign nature. In this study, a green and sustainable blend-membrane fabrication strategy was developed by employing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and CyreneTM as an eco-friendly solvent during the phase inversion process to produce porous PLA-based membranes. Unlike conventional fabrication methods that rely on toxic organic solvents, the use of CyreneTM effectively promotes pore formation while reducing potential environmental and health hazards. For comparison, membranes were also fabricated using dimethylformamide (DMF) as a conventional solvent. The PLA/PVA membranes prepared with the CyreneTM/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) co-solvent system exhibited a substantial increase in overall porosity and water flux while maintaining mechanical integrity. The incorporation of PVA into the PLA matrix enhanced hydrophilicity, leading to a remarkable improvement in pure water flux from 161.5 to 563.5 L center dot m(-2)center dot h(-1)center dot bar(-1) in the CyreneTM/DMSO system while maintaining high BSA rejection (similar to 97.8%). Similarly, DMF-based membranes showed flux values ranging from 115.4 to 466.2 L center dot m(-2)center dot h(-1)center dot bar(-1) under comparable conditions. This fully eco-friendly fabrication approach, utilizing biodegradable polymers and the green solvent CyreneTM, represents a significant step toward sustainable membrane engineering and offers a viable route for developing high-performance, biodegradable membranes for water treatment and other separation applications.

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