Performance evaluation of iron nanoparticles infused polyethersulphone (Fe‐NPs/PES) membrane during treatment of BTEX‐contaminated wastewater

Abstract

In this study, polyethersulfone (PES) was infused with iron nanoparticles (Fe-NPs) obtained from the leaf of pomegranate plant to enhance hydrophilicity of the PES membrane. The resulted nanocomposite Fe-NPs/PES membrane obtained via phase inversion was characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for the morphology; a texture analyzer for the mechanical strength; an atomic force microscope (AFM) for the surface roughness; and water contact angle measurement for the degree of hydrophilicity. The separation performance of the membrane was evaluated using BTEX-containing wastewater. SEM images show that Fe-NPs were distributed uniformly within the membrane with improved mechanical strength. Mechanical strength of PES was enhanced at increasing Fe-NPs loading from 1.2 MPa for the pure PES to 8.94 MPa for 20 wt.% Fe-NPs loaded membrane. AFM analysis reveals that membrane roughness increased with increase in Fe-NPs loading. Also, the contact angle measurement indicates that the hydrophilicity of the composite membrane was enhanced by the addition of Fe-NPs. The permeation properties reveal that pure water flux of the composite membrane increased with increasing Fe-NPs loading. In addition, the highest BTEX rejection obtained was 64.55% at 10 wt.% Fe-NPs loading when compared to the rejection 41.4% obtained from the pure PES membrane evaluated at similar conditions.

Synthesis and Evaluation of HSOD/PSF and SSOD/PSF Membranes for Removal of Phenol from Industrial Wastewater

“…The decrease in the contact angle reveals the enhancement of the hydrophilic property of PSF membrane. This is in agreement with the study reported by Unuigbe et al [ 34 ]. In addition, this observation corroborate the trend observed with the surface roughness of these membranes.…”

“…Figure 4 c,d depict the surface view and the cross-sectional view of PSF embedded with 10 wt.% HSOD, respectively. The surface view shows fewer pores which are smaller in comparison with those of the pure PSF membrane, attributable to the suppression of micro-void formation at high percentage loading of nanoparticles within the polymer matrix [ 34 ]. The typical thread ball-like shape of the HSOD particles are visible in the cross-section of the PSF membrane.…”

Effect of Silica Sodalite Loading on SOD/PSF Membranes during Treatment of Phenol-Containing Wastewater

“…A similar observation was reported by Alruwaili et al [41]. This could be a result of the dominance of micro-void creation when nanoparticles embedded in the polymer matrix have been significantly increased [42]. The membrane becomes denser at a higher concentration of nanoparticles, which corroborates the results of Mukherjee and De [43].…”

Efficient soluble anionic dye removal and antimicrobial properties of ZnO embedded‐ Polyphenylsulfone membrane

“…Among these techniques, the pressure‐driven membrane technique has been proposed as an alternative process for the separation of textile wastewater because of its advantages, such as reduced energy consumption, low space requirements, low cost, high efficiency and environmental friendliness (Balta et al ., 2016; Unuigbe et al ., 2019; Wang et al ., 2019; Khan Mohammadi et al ., 2020). In recent years, wastewater separation using nanostructured hybrid membranes that operate via size exclusion and electrostatic interactions has attracted increasing attention from researchers in the water industry and scientific community for the separation of synthetic dyes from industrial effluents.…”

“…Numerous physicochemical techniques have been applied to remove dye-containing wastewater, such as impaction, precipitation, interception, solicitation, adhesion, physical and chemical adsorption, biological growth, flocculation and pressure-driven membrane separation methods (Chinoune et al, 2016;Bayat et al, 2018;Beluci et al, 2019;Duo et al, 2019;Song et al, 2019;Feng et al, 2020;Zheng et al, 2020). Among these techniques, the pressure-driven membrane technique has been proposed as an alternative process for the separation of textile wastewater because of its advantages, such as reduced energy consumption, low space requirements, low cost, high efficiency and environmental friendliness (Balta et al, 2016;Unuigbe et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2019;Khan Mohammadi et al, 2020). In recent years, wastewater separation using nanostructured hybrid membranes that operate via size exclusion and electrostatic interactions has attracted increasing attention from researchers in the water industry and scientific community for the separation of synthetic dyes from industrial effluents.…”