Antimicrobial and antifouling performance of modified membrane during UF of sugarcane juice

In the present study, nanofiller (polypyrrole and chitosan (CPY) composite) incorporated polysulfone (PSF) based hollow fiber was synthesized to address the membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of sugarcane juice. The CPY was incorporated within the PSF matrix at varied concentrations (0.25, 0.5 and 1 wt%). The synergy between CPY and PSF was examined by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Morphological results confirmed the augmented porous nature of the modified membrane. The optimized membrane (MHCPY_0.5) displayed improved membrane properties along with the rejection of polyphenoloxidase enzyme (71.2%) and bacteria (5.4 log reduction). The antifouling nature of the selected modified membrane was evaluated in terms of resistances and flux recovery ratio and the same was compared with that of unmodified membrane. The MHCPY_0.5 exhibited remarkable antibacterial properties confirmed from halo zone, shake flask, anti-adhesion, live dead staining assays studies.