The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance and antifouling properties of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane incorporated with dual nanofiller, zinc oxide (ZnO) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). The synergistic effect of the these nanofillers in PES membrane is studied by blending different ratio of ZnO/MWCNT nanofiller into the PES membrane. The fabricated membranes were characterized in terms of cross-section and surface morphology, surface hydrophilicity, pore size and porosity. The filtration performance of the membranes was tested using 50 mg/L humic acid (HA) solution as model solution. SEM image and gravimetric evaluation reported that the incorporation of both MWCNT and ZnO into the PES membrane improved porosity significantly up to 46.02%. Lower water contact angle of PES membrane incorporated with equal ratio of MWCNT and ZnO (PES 3) revealed that it has neat PES membrane properties and more hydrophilic membrane surface than single filler. PES 3 outperform other membranes with excellent HA permeate flux of 40.00 L/m2.h and rejection of 88.51%. Due to hydrophilic membrane surface, PES 3 membrane demonstrate efficient antifouling properties with lower relative flux reduction (RFR) and higher flux recovery ratio (FRR). PES 3 also showed notable antibacterial properties with less bacterial attached to the membrane compared to neat PES membrane (PES 0).
The purpose of this study is to explore the emulsion liquid membrane stability for acetaminophen (ACTP) removal from aqueous solution. In this work, the membrane phase was prepared by dissolving trioctylamine (TOA) with kerosene and Span80. The stability of the emulsion in terms of emulsion size, membrane breakage, and its efficiency in removing ACTP was considered for the optimization of parameters. Investigation on the stability of emulsion was carried out by manipulating the concentration of stripping agent, agitation speed, extraction time, and treat ratio. The best condition to produce a very stable emulsion was achieved at 0.1 M of stripping agent concentration, with 300 rpm of agitation speed for 3 min of extraction time with a treat ratio of 3:1. Eighty-five percent of ACTP successfully stripped into the emulsion with minimum membrane breakage of 0.17% through this experiment.
Emerging contaminants (ECs) originated from different agricultural, biological, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors have been detected in our water sources for many years. Several technologies are employed to minimise EC content in the aqueous phase, including solvent extraction processes, but there is not a solution commonly accepted yet. One of the studied alternatives is based on separation processes of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) that benefit low solvent inventory and energy needs. However, a better understanding of the process and factors influencing the operating conditions and the emulsion stability of the extraction/stripping process is crucial to enhancing ELM's performance. This article aims to describe the applications of this technique for the EC removal and to comprehensively review the ELM properties and characteristics, phase compositions, and process parameters.