Membrane Coating Materials

About

Technology When commercially available polymer membranes are exposed to aqueous solutions of salt, emulsified oil droplets, and other particulate matter, their lifetime can decrease catastrophically due to reduction in flux as a result of membrane fouling. This technology provides a new class of graft copolymers capable of extending the lifespan and functionality of water purification membranes. As a membrane coating material, the graft copolymers have excellent hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties. In addition, they contain UV-activatable functional groups to enable UV-crosslinking of the copolymers, both within the coating itself to impart structural stability and into the underlying membrane to promote strong adhesion. These graft copolymer coatings are highly effective in preventing fouling of water-filtration membranes, and in maintaining the flux levels necessary for efficient filtration. Unlike other coating materials, the anti-fouling graft copolymers do not delaminate from the membrane substrate. Applications Durable anti-fouling coatings for a wide variety of existing commercial membranes such as ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.