Fabrication and Performance Evaluation of CA–PEG–PVC/GO Nanocomposite Membranes Prepared by Phase Inversion for Desalination in Drinking Water Treatment

The global clean water shortage has driven the development of more efficient desalination technology, particularly reverse osmosis (RO) membrane-based.However, conventional CA membranes still exhibit low permeability, fouling vulnerability, and weak mechanical properties.This study aims at the preparation and the performance characterization of CA-PEG-PVC composite membranes with incorporated graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles through the phase inversion method.The major materials utilized were cellulose acetate (CA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a pore former, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent, and GO at various concentrations.The membrane was characterized through salt rejection and permeate flux measurements in cross-flow mode using feed water of 241 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS).The results show that membranes without PVC registered 2.07% salt rejection with high flux of 825.33 Lmh, while the addition of 0.01 g PVC increased salt rejection to 4.15% but decreased flux to 300.12 Lmh.The results draw the conclusion that PVC adds structural stability and ion rejection but decreases water permeability as it is hydrophobic.Overall, this study demonstrates the compromise between permeability and selectivity in CA-PEG-PVC/GO membranes and suggests that it is necessary to further balance the composition of PVC and GO in order to achieve more balanced RO membrane performance in drinking water treatment applications.