Bathroom greywater recycling using polyelectrolyte-complex bilayer membrane: Advanced study of membrane structure and treatment efficiency

Oh KS 1 , Poh PE 2 , Chong MN 3 , Chan ES 1 , Lau EV 4 , Saint CP 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Sustainable Water Alliance, Advanced Engineering Platform, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: poh.phaik.eong@monash.edu
  • 3 Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Sustainable Water Alliance, Advanced Engineering Platform, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 4 Mechanical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor DE, Malaysia
  • 5 Natural & Built Environments Research Centre, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, 5095 South Australia, Australia
Carbohydr Polym, 2016 Sep 05;148:161-70.
PMID: 27185127 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.039

Abstract

Polyelectrolyte-complex bilayer membrane (PCBM) was fabricated using biodegradable chitosan and alginate polymers for subsequent application in the treatment of bathroom greywater. In this study, the properties of PCBMs were studied and it was found that the formation of polyelectrolyte network reduced the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) from 242kDa in chitosan membrane to 2.71kDa in PCBM. The decrease in MWCO of PCBM results in better greywater treatment efficiency, subsequently demonstrated in a greywater filtration study where treated greywater effluent met the household reclaimed water standard of <2 NTU turbidity and <30ppm total suspended solids (TSS). In addition, a further 20% improvement in chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was achieved as compared to a single layer chitosan membrane. Results from this study show that the biodegradable PCBM is a potential membrane material in producing clean treated greywater for non-potable applications.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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