Eco-friendly membranes for separations

Abstract

A method of fabricating an eco-friendly, porous membrane includes preparing a porous membrane using a dope solution of polymer, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and one or more deep eutectic solvents (DES). The porous PLA membrane can be formed from the dope solution through non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS). A concentration of the one or more deep eutectic solvents in the dope solution can be between about 0.5 and 3.0 weight percent. The one or more deep eutectic solvents results in the membrane having increased porosity and a larger average pore size diameter. In an example, the one or more deep eutectic solvents includes choline chloride (ChCl) and ethylene glycol (EG). In an example, the membrane can be used for oil-water separation and the oil rejection of the membrane is at least 80 percent.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.