Fabrication of polycarbonate mixed matrix membranes containing hydrous manganese oxide and alumina nanoparticles for heavy metal decontamination: Characterization and comparative study

In this study, novel ultrafiltration polycarbonate (PC) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) containing hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) and alumina nanoparticles were fabricated for the removal of Cd-2+ and Cu-2+. The weight percent of HMO and alumina nanoparticles in the polycarbonate mixed matrix membrane was changed from 0 to 15. The synthesized MMMs were characterized in terms of structural morphology and hydrophilicity using FESEM, water contact angle and FTIR analysis. The effects of HMO and alumina loadings on the pure water flux, mean pore size, porosity and water contact angle of the membranes and removal of Cd-2+ and Cu-2+ were further studied. By increasing the loading of HMO and alumina nanoparticles in the casting solution, the mean pore size of membrane increases while the membrane porosity decreases. The increase in HMO and alumina loadings resulted in an increase in water flux of the membrane. It can be attributed to the enhancement in mean pore size and decrease in contact angle (more hydrophilicity of membrane). Furthermore, the OF experiments showed that the MMM prepared by the highest HMO nanoparticles loading had very fast kinetics and demonstrated the highest Cd-2+ and Cu-2+ removal efficiency (e.g. 98% and 97%, respectively). Furthermore, these data were higher than the removal efficiency of MMM prepared by alumina nanoparticles (about 91% and 81% for Cd-2+ and Cu-2+, respectively) due to the higher adsorption capacity of HMO nanoparticles compared to alumina. The generic results revealed that HMO nanoparticles can be a good candidate for MMMs preparation and can be conveniently used in the Cd-2+ and Cu-2+ removal from polluted water resources. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.