• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.320-329
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• 2005

Polyamide membrane degradation by chlorine has been studied to improve membrane durability. In this study, it was found that the salt rejection was reduced rapidly and flux of the membrane was increased slowly far membrane treated under chlorine condition. In order to improve resistance to chlorine of the polyamide reverse osmosis membrane, fluorine-containing silane coupling agent (FSCA) was introduced to surface modification. Surface properties and chlorine resistance of silane modified membrane were compared with virgin membrane. It was found that the surface of silane modified membrane has dense structure according to FSCA concentration increasing. The results of surface analysis suggest that FSCA retrieved a severe change in the hydrophobicity and surface roughness. In addition, it appears that FSCA can enhance chlorine resistance due to the interaction of such substance with free radical chlorine.