Potassium titanyl phosphate membranes: surface properties and application to ionic solution filtration

The relationship between the surface charge of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP), studied on powder suspensions, and filtration properties of KTP nanofiltration membranes was studied. An experimental investigation of KTP powder characterization in different electrolytic solutions is presented: electrophoretic measurements show that the colloid particles are negatively charged whatever the solution pH, although they present a point of zero charge about 7.8. The selectivity of the membrane depends on the charge and size of ions. The interactions between the membrane and charged species have to be taken into account to explain the transfer through the membrane. With salts having the same cation, the rejection is higher for divalent anions than for monovalent anions. The best rejection rate is observed for applied pressure lower than 7 bar.