Micellar Supported Ultrafiltration of Malachite Green: Experimental Verification of Theoretical Approach

Abstract

Abstract This study pertains to theoretical aspect of membrane and surfactant supported ultrafiltration technique followed by experimental evaluation of rejection percentage (R%) and permeate flux (J). The organic dye malachite green (MG) was removed from water samples with help of micellar solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant on account of effective surfactant-dye interaction. The MG removal from water was result of electrostatic force of attraction between Stern layer of SDS micelles and cationic MG in addition to hydrophobic-hydrophobic interaction. The regenerated cellulose membrane was used to retain enhanced MG-SDS micellar complex from polluted water in stirred ultrafiltration cell. R% of MG increases from 79.3%, 77%, 76% to 97.5%, 95%, 90% for 0.01, 0.1 and 0.2 mM concentrations, respectively. “J” decreases throughout the experiment on account of membrane plugging or concentration polarization. Hydrodynamic radius (Rh) of SDS surfactant was also determined at its post micellar concentrations by dynamic laser light scattering (DLLS) that shows high rejection percentage with increased Rh values.