Development of nanofiltration PES membranes incorporated with hydrophilic para hydroxybenzoate alumoxane filler for high flux and antifouling property

Abstract

The PES nanofiltration membranes incorporated with hydrophilic para hydroxybenzoate alumoxane (PHBA) filler were prepared with enhanced pure water flux, dye removal, and antifouling property. The fabricated membranes were characterized in terms of average pore radius, porosity, surface roughness, water contact angle, active layer thickness, and zeta potential. The surface roughness of the nanofiltration membranes decreased and the surface hydrophilicity of the nanofiltration membranes increased with the increase of the PHBA content. According to nanofiltration experiments, the highest pure water flux of the PES membranes incorporated with PHBA reached up to 80.47 kg/m2h under operation pressure of 0.4 MPa, which was nearly 5.8 times as much as that of the neat PES membrane. The PES membranes incorporated with PHBA filler also exhibited excellent antifouling performance and dye removal capability. In the best PHBA content with the P-PHBA 0.3 % membrane, the highest rejection of 99.21 and 98.53% were achieved for DR 16 and MB, respectively. Furthermore, the P-PHBA membranes exhibited good long-term operational pH stability for DR 16 rejection. P-PHBA 0.3 % membrane also exhibited the highest flux recovery ratio (98.50%) and the lowest irreversible fouling ration (1.50%). Moreover, the dominant fouling mechanism was determined using Hermia–"s model. This superior antifouling behavior and relatively high dye rejection combined with remarkable stability show the potential of the organic-inorganic fillers embedded nanofiltration membranes in sustainable water treatment technology.