Improvement of a novel polymeric membrane performance by adding alumina powder for seawater desalination

In this study, a composite membrane was prepared from recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE), thus helping to lighten plastics’ load on the environment, while the powder of alumina was used to enhance the membrane contact angle, its porosity, and its mechanical properties. The membrane preparation was made by means of the thermally induced phase separation method by using the butyl acetate as a solvent, hexane as a non-solvent, and the alumina as an additive. The membrane crystalline property was assessed via the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The membrane characteristics were then investigated in terms of thickness, contact angle, pore size, porosity, mechanical test, bubble point pressure, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The results revealed that the addition of alumina had an important role in improving membrane structure, properties and therefore its performance. The evaluation of the R-LDPE-alumina membrane showed that it has a good porosity, good hydrophobicity, and better mechanical properties. The obtained membranes were also applicated to the vacuum membrane distillation to test their performance.