Membranes obtained on the basis of cellulose acetate and their use in removal of metal ions from liquid phase

The polymer membranes containing 18 wt% of cellulose acetate and different amounts of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a cross-linker agent were used in the process of iron and copper ions removal from liquid phase. Depending on the content of PVP (changed from 1 to 4 wt.%) the membrane surfaces were characterised by different hydrophilic character and showed the dominant presence of surface oxygen-containing groups of acidic character. Irrespectively of the concentrations of solvents from which the metal ions had to be removed, the membranes showed better ability to remove Fe ions than Cu ones, and the membrane resistances decreased with increasing content of PVP. After the filtrations of solutions with iron ions the flux recovery ratio took rather high values; this ratio increased with increasing PVP content in the membrane.