Nanomagnets doped antifouling membrane for fine emulsion separation

Abstract

Reutilizing domestic and industrial wastewater can be the best solution to global water issues. However, the treatment of oily wastewater is a long-standing problem due to the complex fine emulsion produced by mixing the different types of oils and organic solvents. In this work, nanocomposite membranes were fabricated using phase inversion technique by loading polysulfone matrix with varying amounts of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Developed nanocomposite membrane has shown hydrophilic and super-oleophobic properties with an underwater contact angle of 145 ± 3°. Incorporating MNPs into the Psf membranes enhanced the performance and permeability with the oil rejection efficiency as high as ∼99 %. Psf-MNP composite membranes exhibited remarkable antifouling properties, preventing oil deposition on the membrane surface with improved mechanical properties. Our studies suggest that the developed Psf-MNP nanocomposite membrane shows increased surface functionality, which leads to promising long-term performance and reusability of the membrane.