The efficient mixed matrix antifouling membrane for surfactant stabilized oil-in-water nanoemulsion separation

Membrane technology has raised considerable interest in sustainable water purification over the past decade. The development of antifouling membranes is always the basic approach to address the omnipresent bottlenecks of the membrane fouling. In this study, AlSi2O6 nanoparticles were synthesized using a coprecipitation technique and their influence was investigated on the permeation and antifouling properties of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes of polysulfone (PSF). A series of membranes were fabricated with various concentrations (such as 0.0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt%) of AlSi2O6 nanoparticles through diffusion induced phase separation method. The prepared composite membranes demonstrate homogeneous nanoparticles dispersion, greater surface hydrophilicity, elevated surface roughness, and greater mechanical strength. The membrane's separation efficiency and antifouling property rises with increased concentration of AlSi2O6. Results suggest that with higher concentration of AlSi2O6, the water fluxes as well as separation efficiency of oil in water nanoemulsion increase up to 95%. Furthermore, the antifouling characteristics of composite membranes are efficiently enhanced by separating 100 mg / L of oil-in-water nanoemulsion (200 nm size) with a flux recovery ratio of up to 97% even though 52 percent of total fouling. Therefore, these membranes can be expected to become a competitive candidate for the separation of oil-water emulsions separation in the scope of environmental protection.