Evaluation of Differences in Polyethersulfone Membrane Modification Techniques Using Bio-Additive Dragon Blood Resin

Membrane surface modification is one of the simplest ways to enhance the anti-fouling attribute of a polyethersulfone (PES)-based membrane. This paper compared two modification methods of PES membranes using dragon blood resin (DBR) additive via blending in the dope solution and coating a pristine PES membrane. The effect of modification methods was evaluated based on the properties and performances of the resulting membranes. Results show that the DBR-blended membrane exhibits higher water permease but lesser humic acid rejection than the DBR-coated membrane. Characteristics of contact angle, porosity, and pore size showed linear results on permease performance. The FTIR spectrum did not reveal any new groups but differed only on peak intensity. The DBR-coated membrane showed excellent anti-fouling properties as demonstrated by a flux recovery percentage of > 350%.