• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2018

With the rapid increase in seawater desalination, the importance of boron rejection is rising. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of hydrophilic compounds on surface modification to maximize water flux and increase boron rejection. First, polyamide active layer was fabricated by interfacial polymerization of polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane with M-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) to obtain Control polyamide membrane. Next, D-gluconic acid (DGCA) and D-gluconic acid sodium salt (DGCA-Na) were synthesized with glutaraldehyde (GA) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) by modifying the surface of Control polyamide membrane. XPS analysis was carried out for the surface analysis of the synthesized membrane, and it was confirmed that the reaction of surface with DGCA and DGCA-Na compounds was performed. Also, FE-SEM and AFM analysis were performed for morphology measurement, and polyamide active layer formation and surface roughness were confirmed. In the case of water flux, the membrane fabricated by the surface modification had a value of 10 GFD or less. However, the boron rejection of the membranes synthesized with DGCA and DGCA-Na compounds were 94.38% and 94.64%, respectively, which were 12.03 %p and 12.29 %p larger than the Control polyamide membrane, respectively.