Green solvent γ-Valerolactone as a sustainable alternative for the production of polymeric membranes for pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) removal from water

The production of sustainable filtration membranes has emerged as a broad research topic. Replacing conventional toxic solvents with nontoxic ones from renewable sources has aroused great interest. In addition, studies on the use of these membranes for drug removal have gained prominence. In this research, γ-Valerolactone (GVL) acted as the eco-friendly solvent, while polyvinylpyrrolidone served as the pore-forming agent to create PVDF membranes. Additionally, the study examined the impact of heat treatments, specifically hot air in a vacuum furnace and hot water, on the morphology and performance of the membranes. According to this research, GVL solvent can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to usual solvents N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) or dimethylacetamide (DMAc) to produce more sustainable membranes. With a time of 30 min, higher temperatures (up to 150 °C), dry heat treatment in an oven, and a smaller amount of polymer, it is possible to obtain membranes with productivity and rosuvastatin rejection close to commercial membranes. Among the membranes produced, the MF13P2.5DTe.1 membrane presented the best results, such as hydraulic permeability close to 7 kg h−1m−2 bar−1 and 80 % rosuvastatin rejection. However, further studies are required to allow the commercial production of PVDF membranes using GVL as an environmentally friendly solvent. [Display omitted] •Green solvent γ-valerolactone was used to obtain more sustainable PVDF membranes.•Dry air heat treatment resulted in more selective PVDF membranes.•Heat treatments improve the filtration performance of membranes.•The membrane with 13 % polymer showed promising filtration performance.•Obtaining more sustainable PVDF membranes with permeabilities similar to commercial ones.