Abstract
The presence of major heavy metals including Pb2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Hg2+, Cr6+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ in water is of great concern because they cannot degrade or be destroyed. They are toxic even at very low concentrations. Therefore, it is necessary to remove such toxicants from water. In the current study, polydopamine carbon nanotubes (PD-CNTs) and polysulfone (PS) composite membranes were prepared. The structural and morphological features of the prepared PDCN composite membranes were studied using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDS. The potential application of PDCNs for heavy metal removal was studied for the removal of Pb2+, Cr6+, and Cd2+ from wastewater. The maximum removal efficiency of 96.1% was obtained for Cr6+ at 2.6 pH using a composite membrane containing 1.0% PD-CNTs. The removal efficiencies decreased by 64.1 and 73.4, respectively, by enhancing the pressure from 0.50 up to 0.85 MPa. Under the same circumstances, the percentages of Pb+2 removal at 0.49 bar by the PDCNS membranes containing 0.5% and 1.0% PD-CNT were 70 and 90.3, respectively, and decreased to 54.3 and 57.0, respectively, upon increasing the pressure to 0.85 MPa. The results showed that PDCNS membranes have immense potential for the removal of heavy metals from water.
Highlights
Heavy metals are environmental contaminants in unclean wastewater, and they have become the cause of serious public health issues [1]
The synthesis of polydopamine carbon nanotubes (PD-carbon nanotubes (CNTs))-based composite membranes consists of several steps illustrated in the following paragraphs
550 series II Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (FTIR) in order to find out the presence of functional groups in all prepared samples (PD-CNTs, PDCNS)
Summary
Heavy metals are environmental contaminants in unclean wastewater, and they have become the cause of serious public health issues [1]. By anchoring the functional groups on the surface of CNTs, such as -NH2 and -SH, these modified nanomaterials show improved adsorption abilities for heavy metal ions [17]. Several studies investigating the improvement of pore structure, size control, and flow have put together polysulfone/CNT composite membranes, a motivating area for purification [22]. The large surface area and nano diameter of CNTs could be used effectively to modify the polysulfone membrane, which enhances the removal of metal ions in precarious applications. The current study was conducted with the objective of producing a new nanocomposite membrane with a PD-modified multi-walled carbon material as a stabilizer for the removal of selected heavy metals. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have been carried out on the removal of metal ions from wastewater using PDCNT/and sulfonated polysulfone composite membranes. -CNTs/PS membranes, and the produced composite membranes were evaluated using the FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TGA techniques
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