Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), used since the 1940s, are persistent and carcinogenic pollutants. Water is a major exposure route; effective removal is essential. While nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are effective but costly, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes offer advantages...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Membranes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/6/172 |
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| author | Oruc Kaan Turk Mehmet Cakmakci Ismail Hakki Zengin Dogan Karadag Ebubekir Yuksel |
| author_facet | Oruc Kaan Turk Mehmet Cakmakci Ismail Hakki Zengin Dogan Karadag Ebubekir Yuksel |
| author_sort | Oruc Kaan Turk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), used since the 1940s, are persistent and carcinogenic pollutants. Water is a major exposure route; effective removal is essential. While nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are effective but costly, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes offer advantages such as lower cost and higher flux, but their relatively large pore size makes them ineffective for PFAS compounds like perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Since PFAS removal depends on both pore size and surface properties, this study investigates the effect of polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings using poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) on the zeta potential of UF membranes. Pristine UF membranes showed limited performance (UP150: ~2% for both PFOS and PFOA; UP020: 34.4% PFOS, 24.1% PFOA), while coating significantly enhanced removal (coated UP150: 45.3% PFOS, 43.4% PFOA; coated UP020: 77.8% PFOS, 73.3% PFOA). The modified UF membranes achieved PFAS removal efficiencies significantly closer to NF membranes, though still below those of RO (e.g., BW30XLE: up to 91.0% PFOS, 88.3% PFOA; NP030: up to 81.0% PFOS, 79.3% PFOA). Findings emphasize the importance of membrane surface charge and suggest that modified UF membranes offer a promising, low-cost alternative for PFAS removal under low-pressure conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b4f83633dcb433c84c1d2624d2e9e71 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b4f83633dcb433c84c1d2624d2e9e712025-08-20T02:21:04ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752025-06-0115617210.3390/membranes15060172Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer CoatingOruc Kaan Turk0Mehmet Cakmakci1Ismail Hakki Zengin2Dogan Karadag3Ebubekir Yuksel4Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul 34220, TürkiyeDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul 34220, TürkiyeDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul 34220, TürkiyeDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul 34220, TürkiyeDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, TürkiyePer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), used since the 1940s, are persistent and carcinogenic pollutants. Water is a major exposure route; effective removal is essential. While nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are effective but costly, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes offer advantages such as lower cost and higher flux, but their relatively large pore size makes them ineffective for PFAS compounds like perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Since PFAS removal depends on both pore size and surface properties, this study investigates the effect of polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings using poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) on the zeta potential of UF membranes. Pristine UF membranes showed limited performance (UP150: ~2% for both PFOS and PFOA; UP020: 34.4% PFOS, 24.1% PFOA), while coating significantly enhanced removal (coated UP150: 45.3% PFOS, 43.4% PFOA; coated UP020: 77.8% PFOS, 73.3% PFOA). The modified UF membranes achieved PFAS removal efficiencies significantly closer to NF membranes, though still below those of RO (e.g., BW30XLE: up to 91.0% PFOS, 88.3% PFOA; NP030: up to 81.0% PFOS, 79.3% PFOA). Findings emphasize the importance of membrane surface charge and suggest that modified UF membranes offer a promising, low-cost alternative for PFAS removal under low-pressure conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/6/172PFOAPFOSPFASmembrane technologyzeta potential |
| spellingShingle | Oruc Kaan Turk Mehmet Cakmakci Ismail Hakki Zengin Dogan Karadag Ebubekir Yuksel Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating Membranes PFOA PFOS PFAS membrane technology zeta potential |
| title | Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating |
| title_full | Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating |
| title_fullStr | Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating |
| title_short | Improving PFAS Rejection by Ultrafiltration Membranes via Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating |
| title_sort | improving pfas rejection by ultrafiltration membranes via polyelectrolyte multilayer coating |
| topic | PFOA PFOS PFAS membrane technology zeta potential |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/15/6/172 |
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