Optimization of Antifouling Properties of Mixed Matrix Membrane Synthesized via In-situ Colloidal Precipitation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Centre for Water Research, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, SEGi University, Jalan Teknologi, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

2 Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Abstract

This research was conducted to optimize the mixed matrix membrane (MMM) embedded with reduced Graphene oxide/Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (rGO:MWCNTs) by response surface methodology (RSM). The MMMs were fabricated via in-situ colloidal precipitation method. The process variables are concentration of nanomaterials (A) and weight ratio rGO:MWCNT (B), while the response is normalized flux treating methyl orange (MO) dye. The statistical analysis revealed that the experimental result obeyed to the establishment of quadratic model which possessed superior validity and adequacy with high R2 (0.9249). The normalized flux is known to be strongly influenced by nanomaterials concentration represented by the p-value (0.0004-0.0022< 0.05). The RS plots revealed that the permeate flux and antifouling were attained at minimal concentration of nanomaterials. This is because the adequate dosage of nanomaterials can reduce aggregation and prevent membrane pore blockage. The optimal nanomaterials concentration (0.0303 g/L) and weight ratio (34.3 wt.%) were suggested to achieve high normalized flux of 0.9213. Meanwhile, the confirmatory experiment revealed that the normalized flux of 0.8645 was achieved with low percentage of error 6.16 %. In short, this study asserts that the developed quadratic model was highly reliable in enhancing the normalized flux by optimizing the membrane formulations.

Graphical Abstract

Optimization of Antifouling Properties of Mixed Matrix Membrane Synthesized via In-situ Colloidal Precipitation

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