Preparation of polyvinylidene fluoride/cellulose acetate blend membrane with polyethylene glycol additive for apple juice clarification

Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)/Cellulose Acetate (CA) blend membrane with polyethylene (PEG) addition of casting solution were synthesised to determine its morphology. This purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of PEG addition to membrane performance and its application to the clarification of apple juice. The membranes were prepared from polymer blends of CA and PVDF, dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) as solvent, and PEG as additive. Phase inversion was used to prepare membranes by mixing the polymer blends, solvent and additive to be reacted at temperature 60°C for 24 hours. The variation of PEG weight percentage were 0, 1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 5 wt%. The addition of PEG increased porosity and fluxes, but decreased membrane rejection. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were applied to evaluate the morphology of membranes, which investigated increasing of pore size, pore distribution, and surface roughness. Apple juice clarification by membrane with 1% PEG was obtained 95,1% clearer than the pure sample.