Abstract
Photocatalytic TiO2-PVDF/PMMA nano-composites flat sheet membranes were fabricated by phase inversion and then employed in a crossflow filtration pilot to remove model pollutants of various sizes and charge from aqueous solution. The dope solution contained a mixture of PVDF and PMMA as polymers, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as additives, triethyl phosphate (TEP) as green solvent and TiO2 as immobilized photo catalyst. After undergoing characterization tests such as SEM morphology thickness, porosity, contact angle and water permeability, the membranes were used to eliminate the model pollutants from synthetic aqueous solution. The impact of the operating conditions (i.e., pH, pressure and initial pollutant concentration) and composition of the doping solution on the performance and photocatalytic and antifouling activity of the membranes was investigated. The results showed that Congo Red and Tartrazine despite their small size were rejected at 99% and 81%, respectively, because of their negative charge, while Ciprofloxacin, which is larger than Tartrazine but of neutral charge, crossed the membrane. The permeability did not decrease with a decline in pollutant concentration but diminished when the pressure increased and was reduced by more than half for wastewater.
Highlights
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the surface and cross-section of the membranes indicated that the morphology of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/PMMA nanocomposites is homogeneous and has a sponge-like symmetric formation (Figure 1)
It can be argued that the presence of triethyl phosphate (TEP) as an alternative non-toxic solvent would have slowed down the phase separation rate, leading to a porous spongy membrane [34]
The results revealed an excellent elimination of Congo Red with 99% removal and
Summary
Efficient techniques for wastewater treatment are critical to limit the release of pollutants into the natural environment, and to produce safe potable water for human consumption. The incidence of a variety of recently recognized compounds of anthropogenic or natural origin in the marine environment has turned out to be a worldwide environmental concern. These pollutants are mainly organic in nature and usually occur in trace concentrations in the range from parts per trillion (ppt or ng/L) to parts per billion (ppb or μg/L) [1,3]. There is an urgent need for developing efficient effluent treatment practices
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