BiOCl as the role of cleaner for the fabrication of self-cleaning PES membranes based on the RTIPS method

Due to its cost-effectiveness and productivity, membrane separation technology is widely utilized in the treatment of wastewater, but a major barrier to its further development is organic membrane fouling, which is mainly caused by humic acid (HA). To address this issue, BiOCl/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composites were produced using the ambient stirring method, while polyethersulfone (PES)/BiOCl/PVP self-cleaning membranes were manufactured using the reverse thermally induced phase separation (RTIPS) method. Considering the pure water flux of 3566.67 L m- 2 h-1 and HA retention of 87.24 %, the 0.3 wt% PES/BiOCl/PVP (PB2-65) composite membrane had excellent permeability. The flux recovery of the composite membrane was 76.19 % after three photocatalytic cycles, and cycling experiments proved that the PB2-65 self-cleaning mechanism was stable. The performance of PB2-65 was not compromised when the use cycle was noticeably prolonged under light irradiation. The membranes in this study offer beneficial strategies and solutions for membrane contamination issues.