TY - JOUR
T1 - Investigating the effects of polypropylene-TiO2 loading on the performance of polysulfone/polyetherimide ultrafiltration membranes for azo dye removal
T2 - Experimental and molecular dynamics simulation
AU - Benkhaya, Said
AU - Lgaz, Hassane
AU - Tang, Hai
AU - Altaee, Ali
AU - Haida, Sara
AU - Vatanpour, Vahid
AU - Xiao, Yeyuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - This research paper delves into developing and analyzing advanced composite ultrafiltration (UF) membranes specifically tailored for water treatment and dye removal applications. The composite UF membranes were designed using a combination of polysulfone (PSF), polyetherimide (PEI), and polypropylene-80 wt% TiO2 (PPTiO2) to create the active layer, while a flat polyamide (PA) serves as the support material and is prepared via the spin/spray-coating method. Three different PPTiO2 contents were considered, including 5 wt% (M05), 10 wt% (M10), and 15 wt% (M15). The properties of these membranes were characterized using a range of techniques, including Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurements, mechanical testing and zeta potential. Performance evaluation involved filtering Reactive Red 120 (RR120) and Direct Blue 6 (DB6) solutions through the prepared composite membranes at 5 bar and demonstrates that the optimized membrane M15 exhibited remarkable water permeability of 82.13 L.m−2.h−1 bar−1 and maximum dye rejections of 92.82 % and 97.07 % for DB6 and RR120 respectively. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to analyze the thermal and structural properties of the membranes. The simulations reveal that increasing the content of PPTiO2 reduced membrane pore size, consequently limiting dye mobility and diffusion. This study is the first-of-its-kind to explore the effect of PPTiO2 content on the membrane (PSF/PEI) properties; the optimized composite UF membrane showcases exceptional water permeability and dye rejection performance, making it a promising candidate for water treatment and dye removal applications.
AB - This research paper delves into developing and analyzing advanced composite ultrafiltration (UF) membranes specifically tailored for water treatment and dye removal applications. The composite UF membranes were designed using a combination of polysulfone (PSF), polyetherimide (PEI), and polypropylene-80 wt% TiO2 (PPTiO2) to create the active layer, while a flat polyamide (PA) serves as the support material and is prepared via the spin/spray-coating method. Three different PPTiO2 contents were considered, including 5 wt% (M05), 10 wt% (M10), and 15 wt% (M15). The properties of these membranes were characterized using a range of techniques, including Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurements, mechanical testing and zeta potential. Performance evaluation involved filtering Reactive Red 120 (RR120) and Direct Blue 6 (DB6) solutions through the prepared composite membranes at 5 bar and demonstrates that the optimized membrane M15 exhibited remarkable water permeability of 82.13 L.m−2.h−1 bar−1 and maximum dye rejections of 92.82 % and 97.07 % for DB6 and RR120 respectively. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to analyze the thermal and structural properties of the membranes. The simulations reveal that increasing the content of PPTiO2 reduced membrane pore size, consequently limiting dye mobility and diffusion. This study is the first-of-its-kind to explore the effect of PPTiO2 content on the membrane (PSF/PEI) properties; the optimized composite UF membrane showcases exceptional water permeability and dye rejection performance, making it a promising candidate for water treatment and dye removal applications.
KW - Azo dye
KW - Molecular dynamics
KW - Polypropylene-TiO
KW - Polysulfone/polyetherimide
KW - Spin/spray-coating
KW - Ultrafiltration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173946080&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.104317
DO - 10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.104317
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173946080
SN - 2214-7144
VL - 56
JO - Journal of Water Process Engineering
JF - Journal of Water Process Engineering
M1 - 104317
ER -