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The aim of this work is to develop a new type of carbon-ceramic membranes for the removal of pharmaceutical substances from water. The membranes were prepared by the chemical modification method using an organosilicon precursor—octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS). Graphene oxide, multi-walled carbon nanotubes with carboxylic groups, and single-walled carbon nanotubes were used in the modification process. The filtration properties and adsorption properties of the developed membranes were tested. In order to characterize the membrane, the water permeability, the change of the permeate flux in time, and the adsorbed mass of the substance were determined. Additionally, the surface properties of the membranes were characterized by contact angle measurements and porosimetry. The antibiotic tetracycline was used in the adsorption tests. Based on the results, the improved adsorption properties of the modified membrane in relation to the unmodified membrane were noticed. Novel ceramic membranes modified with MWCNT are characterized by 45.4% removal of tetracycline and permeate flux of 520 L·h·m−2·bar−1. We demonstrated the ability of modified membranes to adsorb pharmaceuticals from water streams that are in contact with the membrane. Novel membranes retain their filtration properties. Therefore, such membranes can be used in an integrated filtration–adsorption process.

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Heterogeneous membranes made of a polymer matrix and containing nano-metric fillers in their structure may present improved physicochemical and process properties compared to homogeneous membranes made only of polymer materials. Membranes made of a PEBAX®2533 block copolymer were tested with fillers such as ZIF-8, SiO2 and POSS-Ph being dosed to them. The material analysis and process tests indicate that these nanomaterials can be used as fillers for heterogeneous membranes. Chemometric analyses determined the influence of individual fillers on selected physicochemical properties of the materials which were used to produce the membranes. For specific concentrations of these fillers, improvement in the permeability and selectivity of the membranes, or at least in one of these parameters, was achieved. The greatest increase in permeability against the homogeneous membrane was obtained for membranes containing 10 wt% ZIF-8 (for CO2, an increase of 2.07 times; for CH4, 2.36 times; for N2, 3.08 times). In turn, the greatest increase in selectivity was obtained for the CO2/CH4 mixture for the membrane containing 5 wt% SiO2 (1.15 times), and for the CO2/N2 mixture for the membrane containing 2 wt% POSS-Ph (1.21 times).

The utilization of adsorptive nonwovens as a pretreatment unit may lead to novel, cost-efficient wastewater treatment technologies with remarkable properties for environmental protection, such as efficient adsorption of antibiotics. This paper uses graphene-modified nonwoven (GMN) to examine (i) how the adsorption of tetracycline (TCY)—especially since this antibiotic is frequently detected in the environment—takes place on an environmentally relevant concentration scale, and (ii) what factors influence the antibacterial and antifungal properties profile of this material class. This study demonstrates that combining graphene particles with commercial textile auxiliaries clearly enhances the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the modified nonwoven materials. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the TCY residues at ng/mL scale. The adsorption results follow Henry and Redlich–Peterson isotherms and emphasize the adsorption process at low concentration levels of TCY. Therefore, the appropriately designed GMNs have a great potential application for wastewater treatment in sewage plants. Statistical analysis (skewness and kurtosis) of nonwovens and modified nonwovens morphology allowed us to determine the parameters influencing the growth of fungi in such structures. GMN structures are capable of adsorbing antibiotics; a two-fold reduction of TCY was obtained in the studies.

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