@article{article_1814137, title={Improvement of water flux, treatment efficiency, and fouling resistance of polyethersulfone/cellulose acetate blend ultrafiltration membranes using nanomaterials derived from renewable resources}, journal={Pamukkale Üniversitesi Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi}, year={2025}, DOI={10.65206/pajes.70729}, author={Acarer Arat, Seren}, keywords={membran, selüloz nanokristal, selüloz nanofibril, karakterizasyon, ultrafiltrasyon, su arıtımı}, abstract={Polymeric flat sheet membranes are extensively applied in both large- and small-scale water and wastewater treatment processes. A straightforward and effective strategy to enhance the performance of polymer-based flat sheet membranes, particularly their water flux and treatment efficiency, is the integration of nanomaterials into the membrane structure. In this research, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were incorporated into polyethersulfone (PES)/cellulose acetate (CA) blend membranes, which were produced using the non-solvent induced phase separation technique. The prepared membranes underwent comprehensive characterization, and their water flux and turbidity removal performance were subsequently evaluated using the classical filtration technique. Morphological properties, including porosity, mean pore size, and pore size distribution, were analyzed from SEM images processed in MATLAB. Antifouling behavior (Rt, Rir, Rr, FRR, and FDR) and resistance-related (RT, RM, RIR, and RR) parameters were evaluated. Incorporation of CNC and CNF improved the hydrophilicity and porosity of the PES/CA membranes while simultaneously decreasing average pore size and surface roughness. Furthermore, both reinforcements significantly increased the pure water flux of the membranes, with observed enhancements of 33.49% for CNC and 37.56% for CNF, reaching a maximum flux of 365.12 L/m²·h. Turbidity removal performance was also positively influenced by the presence of nanomaterials, with the PES/CA/CNF membrane achieving the highest removal efficiency of 98.24%. Overall, CNF was superior to CNC in enhancing the membrane’s porosity, hydrophilicity, surface smoothness, water flux, turbidity removal, and fouling resistance. The estimated fabrication cost for PES/CA-based membranes ranged from 1773 to 2948 TRY.}, publisher={Pamukkale Üniversitesi}