Excellent anti-fouling performance of PVDF polymeric membrane modified by enhanced CaA gel-layer

Calcium alginate gel-layer polymeric membranes with excellent anti-fouling ability were developed via dip-coating method through sodium alginate and calcium chloride to form gel-layers onto different polyvinylidene fluoride membranes. SEM, FT-IR, DCA and mechanical properties were operated for characterization. Comprehensive investigation of anti-fouling ability including PWF, FRR%, long-term performances with fouling resistances were conducted. Results showed a significant improvement after cross-linking, in which recovery rate reached to 99.2% and kept steady while contact angle decreased remarkably. Enhanced gel-layer with MWCNTs-COOH was also developed and applied in the commercial PVDF MF membrane and applied in fresh milk emulsion concentration. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.