Gamma irradiation: An effective, eco-friendly method for manufacturing high-performance, fouling-resistant polymeric ultrafiltration membranes

The development of membrane processes has accelerated across a variety of industries. Fouling is the most significant obstacle to the widespread use of polymeric membranes in pressure-driven membrane processes. Polymeric materials under the influence of gamma irradiation are subjected to chemical and structural changes across various dose ranges. This study investigates the influence of gamma radiation (0–70 kGy) on the performance of Polysulfone (PSF), Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and Polyether sulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes synthesized by the phase inversion method. Membrane characterization included Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Liquid-liquid displacement porosimetry (LLDP), and ATR-FTIR. Performance was assessed via pure water flux (PWF), water contact angle, solute rejection (Humic Acid and BSA), and fouling analysis. The effect of gamma radiation was unequivocally positive, leading to superior filtration and fouling resistance. The study confirms that increasing radiation dosage resulted in significant changes, including a substantial decrease in water contact angle (increased hydrophilicity), pore enlargement followed by densification, and most critically, a significant reduction in irreversible fouling (Fir). These modifications yielded peak performance, such as 95.3% HA rejection by the PES membrane, highlighting gamma irradiation as a novel, environmentally benign method for manufacturing high-performance, fouling-resistant membranes. • Gamma irradiation significantly improves the performance of PSF, PVDF, and PES ultrafiltration membranes. • Irradiated membranes show a dramatic increase in hydrophilicity due to chemical functional group formation. • PES membrane exhibits the highest HA rejection of 95.3% at 70 kGy (an improvement of 69.8%). • PSF membrane achieves the highest BSA rejection of 87.2%, coupled with a minimal irreversible fouling (Fir). • The study confirms gamma irradiation as a clean, low-cost, and environmentally least-impacting modification technique.