Abstract:

In order to improve the economic value of corn husk, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) was extracted from corn husks by a ultrasonic process. Polysulfone (PSf) /CNC blend membranes were prepared by an immersion phase inversion process. The morphology, structure and properties of CNC and blend membranes were investigated by SEM, TEM, XRD and filtration experiments. The influence of CNC on the strength, water flux, hydrophilic and antifouling performances of PSF/CNC membranes were researched. The results show that the isolated CNC from corn husk has an average diameter of 18.82 nm and an average length of 569.95 nm. The polymorphs of CNC is cellulose I, and the crystallinity of CNC is 53.86 %. CNC can improve the break strength, hydrophlicity and antifouling performance of pure PSf membrane. The blend membrane reaches optimal properties at 2 % CNC content, which is 2.13 and 1.32 times in pure water flux and antifouling property compared with pure PSF membrane. The bull serum albumin (BSA) rejection of blend membrane is 48.34 %

Key words: cellulose nanocrystal, corn husk, polysulfone / cellulose nanocrystal composite membrane, bull serum albumin rejection