Dye removal using hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fibre composite membrane by vacuum membrane distillation

Abstract Hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fibre composite membranes were prepared by the dilute solution coating process to build a special surface structure that was similar to the dual micro‐nano structure on the lotus leaf. Poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropene) was chosen as the hydrophobic polymer candidate in dilute solution. Membrane morphology and surface hydrophobicity were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic water contact angle measurement. The prepared PVDF hollow fibre membranes were employed to separate dyes (Congo Red and Methylene Blue) from water by vacuum membrane distillation. The effects of operational conditions (feed temperature, vacuum pressure and feed flow rate) on the vacuum membrane distillation performance of different PVDF membranes were investigated. The results indicated that the water contact angle values of PVDF composite membrane surfaces improved from 93.6° to 130.8°, which was mainly attributed to the formation of micro‐nano rods. This structure was similar to the dual micro‐nano structure on the lotus leaf. Under test feed temperature, vacuum pressure and feed flow rate conditions, the dye rejection rate of Congo Red and Methylene Blue by the hydrophobic PVDF hollow fibre membrane remained above 99.5% and 99%, which was higher than that of the pristine PVDF membrane (99% and 98%, respectively). In addition, the hydrophobic PVDF hollow fibre composite membrane showed higher permeation flux under different conditions compared with the pristine PVDF membrane, which was attributed to membrane surface hydrophobicity and the electrostatic interactions between dyes and the PVDF membrane surface.