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Language: English

Conflict of Interest: In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publication history: Received December 12, 2015
Accepted April 19, 2016

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Sulfonation and mixing with TiO2 nanoparticles as two simultaneous solutions for reducing fouling of polysulfone loose nanofiltration membrane

Ahmad Akbari^† Maryam Homayoonfal¹

Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran ¹Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Isfahan, P. O. Box 81746-73441, Isfahan, Iran

Akbari@kashanu.ac.ir

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, August 2016, 33(8), 2439-2452(14)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-016-0107-5

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Abstract

The aim of this research is synthesis of high performance loose nanofiltration membranes for separation of direct dyes from textile wastewater. This involved sulfonation of polysulfone with the aim of increasing hydrophilicity and permeability; synthesis of a sulfonated polysulfone and polysulfone (SPSf/PSf) blended membrane for developing the mechanical resistance and stability of the filtration behavior; and synthesis of TiO2/SPSf/PSf nanocomposite membrane for magnifying selectivity. FTIR analysis confirmed the sulfonated groups and the TiO2 nanoparticles presence. AFM and SEM analysis proved the highest surface roughness and the smallest pore size of TiO2/SPSf/PSf nanocomposite membrane, respectively. The results of water absorption test revealed that the highest level of hydrophilicity belonged to the SPSf/PSf followed by TiO2/SPSf/PSf membrane. The nanofiltration tests showed that the SPSf/PSf membranes enjoy the highest permeability, while the TiO2/SPSf/PSf nanocomposite not only had an acceptable permeability but also presented the highest dye separation efficiency.

Keywords

Textile Wastewater Loose Nanofiltration Sulfonated Polysulfone Nanocomposite Membrane TiO2 Nanoparticle