4.7 Article

Converting recycled membranes into photocatalytic membranes using greener TiO2-GRAPHENE oxide nanomaterials

Journal

CHEMOSPHERE
Volume 306, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135591

Keywords

Photocatalytic membranes; Recycled membranes; Emerging contaminants; Membrane modification; Titanium dioxide-graphene oxide

Funding

  1. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq, Brazil)
  2. Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (Capes, Brazil)
  3. Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, Germany)
  4. Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (Fapemig, Brazil)

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This study investigates the application of modified recycled reverse osmosis membranes for water treatment, finding that membranes modified with dopamine-TiO2-GO have the most promising potential. The nanomaterials can enhance the hydrophilicity of the membranes, forming a hydrated layer, while removing pollutants through adsorption and photocatalysis mechanisms.
Despite the widespread use of membrane separation processes for water treatment, operation costs and fouling still restrict their application. Costs can be overcome by recycled membranes whereas fouling can be mitigated by membrane modification. In this work, the performance of recycled reverse osmosis membranes modified by greener titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphene oxide (GO) in different modification routes were investigated and compared. The use of recycled membranes as a support acted more than a strategy for costs reduction, but also as an alternative for solid waste reduction. Low adhesion of nanoparticulate materials to the membrane surfaces were verified in depositions by self-assembly, whereas filtration and modification with dopamine generated membranes with well adhered and homogeneous layers. Considering the stability, permeability, and rejection efficiency of dyes as model substrates, the membranes modified with the aid of dopamine-TiO2-GO were the most promising. The nanomaterials increased the membrane hydrophilicity and formed a hydrated layer that repels the organic contaminants and reduces fouling. Besides membrane rejection, adsorption (contribution:-10%) and photocatalysis (contribution:-20%) were additional mechanisms for pollutants removal by the modified membranes. The photocatalytic membrane modified with dopamine-TiO2-GO was furthermore evaluated for the removal of six different pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), noticing gains in terms of removal efficiency

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