Fabrication of cellulose acetate membrane with advanced ultrafiltration performances and antibacterial properties by blending with HKUST-1@LCNFs

Abstract

• HKUST-1@ LCNFs was fabricated through green and in-situ strategy successfully. • CA composite membranes were prepared with blending of HKUST-1@ LCNFs successfully. • CA composite membranes blended with HKUST-1@ LCNFs exhibit excellent ultrafiltration performances. • M7 has high antibacterial properties attributed to the synergistic effect of the LCNFs and HKUST-1. To expand the application of cellulose acetate (CA) membranes in wastewater treatment, the excellent ultrafiltration performance and anti-fouling properties should be achieved. Firstly, HKUST-1@ lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) was fabricated through green and in-situ strategy successfully, which combine the characteristics of the HKUST-1 and LCNFs. Then, the blended ultrafiltration membranes with different loading of HKUST-1@LCNFs (or HKUST-1, LCNFs) were prepared by the process of phase separation, which exhibit improved pore structure, hydrophilicity, and rejection rate. Excitedly, the highest pure water permeability of 207.32 L·m −2 ·h −1 and the flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 90.56% were obtained with M6 membrane (0.55 wt% HKUST-1@LCNFs), which was better than that of M2 (HKUST-1) and M3 (LCNFs). It is confirmed that HKUST-1 could inhibit the accumulation of LCNFs, making it taking advantages of its hydrophilic groups. Moreover, composite membranes have attractive antibacterial properties, and >90% of E. coli were killed by M7. This work demonstrated that CA membranes blended with HKUST-1@LCNFs possesses great potential in the wastewater treatment process.