Mahdi Seyfollahi; Habib Etemadi; Reza Yegani; Mahyar Rabeii; Elham Shokri
Abstract
In this study, membranes were prepared by pristine and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted nanodiamond (ND) embedded in cellulose acetate (CA) as matrix polymer via non-solvent induced phase separation method. The antifouling properties of the membranes were studied during filtration of ...
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In this study, membranes were prepared by pristine and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted nanodiamond (ND) embedded in cellulose acetate (CA) as matrix polymer via non-solvent induced phase separation method. The antifouling properties of the membranes were studied during filtration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions and the governing fouling mechanisms of the membranes were also investigated using the Hermia model. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed that ND was successfully functionalized by PEG. CA/ND-PEG nanocomposite membranes have higher hydrophilicity, porosity, water uptake, mechanical strength and a lower amount of adsorbed protein than pure CA and CA/ND membranes. Besides, the antifouling performance of the CA/ND-PEG (0.5 wt.%) nanocomposite membrane also witnessed considerable improvement, in comparison with that of pure CA and CA/ND (0.5 wt.%) membranes. The obtained results showed that the best fit to experimental data for all membranes (pure and nanocomposite membranes) corresponds to the cake layer formation model.
Hanieh Karimnezhad
Abstract
The fabrication of functionalized membranes with hydrophobic/oleophilic surfaces for the elimination of n-hexane from water using para-aminobenzoate alumoxane, boehmite-epoxide and a novel nanoparticle, i.e., Stearate Alumoxane by a simple coating technique, is reported here. FTIR was used to characterize ...
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The fabrication of functionalized membranes with hydrophobic/oleophilic surfaces for the elimination of n-hexane from water using para-aminobenzoate alumoxane, boehmite-epoxide and a novel nanoparticle, i.e., Stearate Alumoxane by a simple coating technique, is reported here. FTIR was used to characterize nanoparticles. SEM and contact angle measurement analyses were used to identify the nanocomposite membranes. The concentrations of oil in permeate and retentate were measured by UV/vis spectrophotometer. The morphology of Stearate alumoxane nanoparticles was investigated by means of SEM images. The composed film of nanoparticles on the Kevlar fabric was hydrophobic with water contact angle of ~ 145° and oleophilic with oil contact angle of ~ 0º. In addition, the membranes retained stable hydrophobicity and high separation efficiency even after employing for 6 times. Applying these properties, a setup was considered using the functionalized Kevlar fabric to separate oil through down to a collector and leave water drops. Our batch filtration system was exclusively gravity-driven. The achieved separation system can separate the oily water mixture (with the concentration of 20 % (v/v) n-hexane in water), effectively with a separation efficiency of 84%.