Polyethersulfone hollow fiber membranes prepared with Polarclean® as a more sustainable solvent

In this work, for the first time, Polarclean® was used as eco-friendly sustainable solvent for preparing Polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber membranes via non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique. After a preliminary study on the dope solution viscosity, the hollow fibers were prepared by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique by varying polymer concentration and bore fluid composition. The obtained fibers were fully characterized in terms of morphology, mechanical properties, porosity, pore size and water permeability. A cost analyses evaluation was also carried out based on the use of the green solvent Polarclean®.