Article pubs.acs.org/IECR
Antimicrobial m‑Aramid/Cellulose Blend Membranes for Water Disinfection Sam Soo Kim,† Jihoon Jeong,† and Jaewoong Lee*,‡ †
Department of Textile Engineering & Technology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749, South Korea Korean Intellectual Property Office, Daejeon 302-701, South Korea
‡
ABSTRACT: An m-aramid/cellulose blend membrane for nonpressure driven filtration was prepared. The m-aramid/cellulose solution in DMAc/LiCl was thin layered on a glass plate and then dipped into a coagulation medium. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of the m-aramid/cellulose blend membranes. The liquid permeability of the maramid/cellulose blend membranes was determined using capillary flow porometry. LiCl in a water/DMAc coagulation medium resulted in an enhancement of the average pore size of the m-aramid/cellulose blend membranes during coagulation. The chlorinated m-aramid/cellulose membrane disinfected bacterial solutions of both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to a much higher degree than that observed for the unchlorinated m-aramid/cellulose membrane.
1. INTRODUCTION Continuous improvements in the technologies applied to the purification of drinking water are required in metropolitan cities. Such technological advancements can sometimes be utilized for smaller scale treatment facilities and have the potential to alleviate problems associated with contaminated water supplies in more remote regions worldwide.1,2 Research related to water disinfection is continuously progressing, with the ultimate aim of adding efficiency to the removal of impurities, including waterborne pathogens, from water. Regarding separation, nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO), with pore sizes of the membranes of 0.5−2 nm and
