Development of Tannic Acid Coated Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane for Filtration of River Water Containing High Natural Organic Matter

Abstract

River water can be used as a source of drinking water. However it is vital to consider the existence of natural organic matter (NOM) and its possible influence on water quality (low turbidity high color). The level of NOM in river water significantly impacts the ecosystem抯 health and the water抯 quality and needs to be removed. A membrane-based approach is attractive for treating NOM successfully but is still hindered by the membrane fouling problem. This study aims to develop polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based membranes customized for NOM removal from river water. The anti-fouling property was imposed by a coating of tannic acid (TA) and Fe3+ on the pre-prepared PVDF membrane. The results show that the TA朏e coatings were effective as demonstrated by the FTIR spectra SEM and EDS data. The coatings made the membrane more hydrophilic with smaller pore size and lower clean water permeability. Such properties offer enhanced NOM rejections (up to 100%) and remarkably higher fouling recovery (up to 23%) desirable for maintaining a long-term filtration performance. ? 2023 by the authors.