Thin film poly(vinyl alcohol)-polysulfone composite membranes based on recycled polysulfone: salt separation performances

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-coated membranes on polysulfone (Ps) (Memb-Pv) were cross-linked using the dibasic maleic acid. The tailoring of membrane properties (viz. hydrophilicity, permeability) develops through the ester linkage due to cross-linking of PVA and maleic acid (MA). Series of Ps asymmetric membranes were prepared using the successive stages of phase inversion of Ps materials. The recyclability approaches of polysulfone (Ps) pertained. The characteristics and transport properties of all the membranes are evaluated. FTIR-ATR, scanning electron (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used for the structural characterization of the membranes. The salient features of Memb-Pv composite membranes support promising results in desalination. The work aimed to highlight the trade-off between the flux and selectivity of composite membranes’ salts (bi-/monovalent) through the recycled Ps matrix. The number of recycling stages influences the salt separation performance. The sulfate rejection differs from Memb-IPv (93.26%) to Memb-IVPv (86.70%) for water-I matrix using 2500 mg/L. The defluoridation potential of the membranes is also convincing. The defluoridation performance of Memb-IPv is 87% for 10 mg/L. A significant dimension is added regarding salt separation performance’s dependence on the water matrices’ nature. The decrease in fluoride separation is ~ 1–3% for the water-2 matrix as the TDS increases. Graphical Abstract