Removal of lead ions using polyamide hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane containing crown ether

Hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane containing 4-aminobenzene 18-crown-6 was prepared through interfacial polymerization by using polysulfone hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane as support, piperazine, triethylamine aqueous solution as aqueous phase, trimesoyl chloride/n-hexane solution as organic phase. The hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and water contact angle measurement. Removal of lead ions of the composite nanofiltration membrane was discussed. The result showed that the hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membrane containing 4-aminobenzene 18-crown-6 has transmembrane flux of 3.87 +/- 0.62 L.m(-2).h(-1), and lead rejection of 97.15% +/- 0.41% by using 50 mg/L lead nitrate solution as feed and tested under 0.6 MPa. The lead rejection of the membrane without crown ether was 60.78% +/- 6.34% and transmembrane flux was 4.24 +/- 0.20 L.m(-2).h(-1). We found that the lead rejection of the membrane containing crown ether increased 59.8% and transmembrane flux declined slightly.