Membranes obtained on the basis of cellulose acetate and their use in removal of metal ions from liquid phase

The polymer membranes containing 18 wt% of cellulose acetate and different amounts of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a cross-linker agent were used in the process of iron and copper ions removal from liquid phase. Depending on the content of PVP (changed from 1 to 4 wt.%) the membrane surfaces were characterised by different hydrophilic character and showed the dominant presence of surface oxygen-containing groups of acidic character. Irrespectively of the concentrations of solvents from which the metal ions had to be removed, the membranes showed better ability to remove Fe3+ ions than Cu2+ ones, and the membrane resistances decreased with increasing content of PVP. After the filtrations of solutions with iron ions the flux recovery ratio took rather high values; this ratio increased with increasing PVP content in the membrane.