This work was devoted to the study of the impact that chemical cleaning with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) has on polyethersulfone (PES)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (95%/5%) membranes, commonly used for water and milk filtration processes. In onsite plants, chemical cleanings are widely used to maintain membranes filtration properties. The aim of this thesis is to determine the degradation mechanisms of these two polymers in contact with NaOCl and to correlate this information with the evolution of the macroscopic properties of the membrane through a multi scale analysis. Firstly, the study of NaOCl impact on both PVP and PES, treated separately as “model polymers”, showed us that dissolved PVP is oxidised, whereas PES film remains stable. Thanks to the identification of PVP oxidation products, a radical degradation mechanism by means of hydroxyl radicals from NaOCl solution has been proposed. Secondly, in order to overcome membrane heterogeneities, several films with different PES/PVP ratios were prepared by varying the amount of PVP. The immersion of these films in NaOCl solutions provoked the oxidation of both PVP and PES, allowing us to clearly identify the degrading effect that PVP has in PES oxidation. Thirdly, the evolution of PVP chemical structure was correlated with the loss of the membrane mechanical properties, demonstrating that PVP, used as an additive (5%), is the weak point of PES/PVP membranes. The monitoring of PVP oxidation in membranes in contact with NaOCl was proposed as a molecular marker of ageing.
