Effect of Hydrophobicity Degree on PVDF Hollow Fiber Membranes for Textile Wastewater Treatment Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

The objectives of this study are to study the effect of hydrophobicity degree of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes blended with different types of additives i.e. ethylene glycol (EG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on textile wastewater application. The degree of hydrophobicity of each membrane was analyzed using contact angle goniometer. The membrane morphology and gas permeability were characterized prior to filtration experiment. Both membranes were tested using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system and their performances were evaluated with respect to water flux and dye removal. This study revealed that the membrane with higher contact angle has greater stability in terms of flux and dye rejection compared to the membrane with low hydrophobic property. This is mainly due to the low surface energy obtained by the highly hydrophobic membrane that prevented the liquids from both sides to penetrate through membrane pores.