Blended nylon 6,6 and choline glycinate-ionic liquid for adsorptive nanofiber membrane on the removal of Fe(III) from synthetic wastewater

Abstract

The concentration of heavy metals in the environment has increased tremendously with the rapid growth in the human population and urbanization. This is potentially hazardous to humans and the environment in high concentrations. Recently, membrane filtration has received considerable attention for heavy metals removal. In this study, amino acid-based ionic liquid (AAIL) was used as an addictive for electrospun nylon 6,6 nanofiber membrane (NFM) for removal of Fe(III) from synthetic wastewater. The characterizations of NFM/AAIL and its performances on Fe(III) removal were studied and compared with the pure NFM. Based on the results, the NFM/AAIL has a comparably smaller membrane diameter than the NFM, thus resulting in larger pore sizes. Moreover, no distinctive changes in the chemical properties between NFM/AAIL and pure NFM based on the FTIR results. In addition, only 0.16 % of AAIL leached out from the membrane when 500 mL of permeate ran through the membrane. Furthermore, due to the membrane larger pore size and hydrophilicity of AAIL, the pure water and iron permeability of NFM/AAIL was reportedly higher than the pure NFM by 99 % and 98 %, respectively. For adsorption analysis, the interactions of carboxylate groups and amine groups from AAIL with Fe (III) has enhanced the adsorption capacity of NFM/AAIL by 97 % as compared to pure NFM.