High-performance polyester composite nanofiltration membrane fabricated by interfacial polymerization of ribitol and trimesoyl chloride: Dye desalination performance and mechanisms

A loose nanofiltration (LNF) membrane with high permeance and excellent dye/salt selectivity is highly desirable for dye/salts recovery from textile wastewater. Herein, commercial and green ribitol (RT) was employed to fabricate the LNF membrane for dye desalination. The hydroxyl in the RT reacted with acyl chloride under the catalysis of sodium hydroxide, forming a polyester film structured with microspheres, negative charge, and hydrophilic networks. The resultant RT-M membrane possessed a smooth and thin active layer with numerous polar groups. The dye desalination performance of the RT-M membrane was tailored by controlling various IP fabrication conditions. The optimized membrane (RT-M1.0) had superior water permeance (100.3 L m⁻²h⁻¹ bar⁻¹) and satisfactory CR/Na₂SO₄ selectivity (281.3). Additionally, the RT-M membrane had favorable stability and antifouling properties, demonstrating excellent potential for application in dye desalination. Therefore, a novel approach for fabricating membranes with outstanding dye desalination properties by using RT was proposed to achieve resource recycling.