Enhancing ultrafiltration membrane permeability and antifouling performance through surface patterning with features resembling feed spacers

This study investigates the potential of surface-patterned membranes in replacing the conventional feed spacer-assisted filtration process. Two types of surface patterns, namely diamond (D) and honeycomb (HC), were utilized in the fabrication of the surface-patterned membranes. These membranes showed larger effective membrane area and higher average porosity when compared to the flat PES membrane. The D-Patterned and HC-Patterned membranes achieved pure water flux of 76.6 ± 16.9 and 88.3 ± 17.4 L m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively, which was higher than the flat PES membrane with and without the use of feed spacers. Furthermore, the patterned membranes reported lower natural organic matter (NOM) fouling in short and long-term filtration experiments and higher flux recovery ratio (FRR), indicating their superior anti-fouling performance over the PES membrane when using feed spacers. Overall, the simple fabrication technique, higher permeability, and excellent anti-fouling performance of the surface-patterned membranes render them suitable for potentially replacing the current configuration used in spacer-assisted filtration processes.