%0 Journal Article %A Wang, Dongwei %A Wu, Xia %A Long, Lixia %A Yuan, Xubo %A Zhang, Qinghua %A Xue, Shengzhang %A Wen, Shumei %A Yan, Chenghu %A Wang, Jianming %A Cong, Wei %D 2017 %T Improved antifouling properties of photobioreactors by surface grafted sulfobetaine polymers %U https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Improved_antifouling_properties_of_photobioreactors_by_surface_grafted_sulfobetaine_polymers/5640130 %R 10.6084/m9.figshare.5640130 %2 https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/9826930 %K Microalgal cultivation %K photobioreactor %K sulfobetaine %K biofouling %K polyethylene film %X

To improve the antifouling (AF) properties of photobioreactors (PBR) for microalgal cultivation, using trihydroxymethyl aminomethane (tris) as the linking agent, a series of polyethylene (PE) films grafted with sulfobetaine (PE-SBMA) with grafting density ranging from 23.11 to 112 μg cm−2 were prepared through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). It was found that the contact angle of PE-SBMA films decreased with the increase in the grafting density. When the grafting density was 101.33 μg cm−2, it reached 67.27°. Compared with the PE film, the adsorption of protein on the PE-SBMA film decreased by 79.84% and the total weight of solid and absorbed microalgae decreased by 54.58 and 81.69%, respectively. Moreover, the transmittance of PE-SBMA film recovered to 86.03% of the initial value after cleaning, while that of the PE film recovered to only 47.27%. The results demonstrate that the AF properties of PE films were greatly improved on polySBMA-grafted surfaces.

%I Taylor & Francis