The Effects of Bore Fluid Composition and Coagulation Bath Temperature on the Structure and Performance of Polysulfone Hollow Fiber Membranes in Collagen Separation

The effects of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) concentration contained in bore fluid and coagulation bath temperature were studied with respect to the structure as well as the performance of the polysulfone hollow fiber membranes. In order to determine the structural characteristics of prepared membranes, a set of analyses including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical strength test, pure water permeability and mean pore radius of surface pores were used and separation of 1 g/L solution of collagen protein was studied to determine the performance of the membranes. The obtained results from SEM analysis showed that at constant coagulation bath temperature, the increase in NMP concentration in bore fluid increased the number of pores in the inner surface of membranes, decreased the formation of finger-like voids and increased the mean pore radius of the pores and also sponge-like pores near the inner radius of hollow fiber membranes. Moreover, pure water permeability and mechanical strength of the prepared membranes increased about 160% and 44%, respectively with increases in the content of NMP in bore fluid. In addition, at constant NMP content of 40% in bore fluid, pure water permeability increased by above 92% as the coagulation bath temperature increased from 30°C to 50°C, whereas the mechanical strength decreased by 32%. Finally, it was revealed that the rejection of the prepared membranes in the separation of collagen protein solution decreased by increasing NMP content in the bore fluid at constant coagulation bath temperature and also deacreased by increasing coagulation bath temperature at constant NMP content in the bore fluid.