Various types of polymers can be used in preparation of thin film composite (TFC) membrane as support layer. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are two significant types of polymers which are not only inexpensive, but also available via local manufactures. Accordingly, in the present study, these two polymers were used in preparation of porous support layer (PSL) of TFC membrane. Afterwards, the polyamide (PA) selective layer was prepared via interfacial polymerization (IP) process. The cross-linking degree of interfacial polymerization process is specifically affected by the surface pore dimensions of the support and its hydrophilicity. Contact angle measurement was conducted to evaluate PSL hydrophilicity of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane with the intention of predicting membrane performance or fouling potential. To track these properties, the performance of TFC membranes which were prepared at the same conditions was finally investigated through desalination of 2000 ppm NaCl solution (transmembrane pressure of 100 psig). The results showed that the TFC membrane which was prepared by PAN as PSL has better stable permeate flux (SPF) and salt rejection (SR). This phenomenon is due to the hydrophilicity of PAN which is not only mitigate internal concentration polarization, but also improve the permeate flux. The obtained results can be useful to achieve the practical application in water desalination for large scale TFC membrane production.

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