Graphene oxide-polysulfone hollow fibers membranes with synergic ultrafiltration and adsorption for enhanced drinking water treatment
Journal article, 2022
Polysulfone-graphene oxide hollow fiber membranes (PSU-GO HFs) with simultaneous adsorption and ultrafiltration capabilities are herein described and proposed for enhanced and simplified Point-of-Use (POU) drinking water purification. The PSU-GO HFs were prepared by phase inversion extrusion by a customized semi-industrial plant and their morphology, surface properties, and porosity were investigated by combined Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), contact angle and Raman confocal microscopy, in relation to different GO:PSU ratios (1–5% w/w GO vs PSU) and to the final adsorption-ultrafiltration properties. Filtration modules of PSU-GO HFs of filtering surface (FS) in the range 0,015–0,28 m2 showed same ultrafiltration capability of PSU-HF standard filters. Synergic adsorption properties were demonstrated by studying the adsorption maximum capacity of ciprofloxacin antibiotic (CIPRO) vs GO ratio in dead end in-out configuration, the standard configuration used for PSU HFs commercial modules. Loading of 3,5% GO vs PSU was selected as case study, representing the best compromise between performance and GO nanofiller amount. Heavy metals (Pb, Cu and Cr(III)) and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) removal capabilities from tap water were competitive and in some cases outperformed Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), the standard industrial sorbent. Ciprofloxacin removal from tap water was also under real operational conditions. Moreover, release of GO from working PSU-GO modules was excluded by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) analysis of treated water having the state-of-the-art limit of quantification of 0.1 μg/L for GO nanosheets.
Graphene oxide
Polysulfone hollow fiber
Drinking water treatment
Emerging contaminants
Adsorptive-ultrafiltration membranes
Author
Massimo Zambianchi
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Sara Khaliha
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Antonio Bianchi
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Francesca Tunioli
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Alessandro Kovtun
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Maria Luisa Navacchia
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Anastasio Salatino
Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque, Italy
Zhenyuan Xia
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Materials and manufacture
Elena Briñas
Regional Institute for Applied Chemistry Research (IRICA)
Ester Vazquez
University of Castilla, La Mancha
Regional Institute for Applied Chemistry Research (IRICA)
Davide Paci
MEDICA
Vincenzo Palermo
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Letizia Bocchi
MEDICA
Barbara Casentini
Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque, Italy
M. Melucci
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
Journal of Membrane Science
0376-7388 (ISSN) 18733123 (eISSN)
Vol. 658 120707Subject Categories
Materials Chemistry
Other Chemical Engineering
Other Chemistry Topics
Areas of Advance
Materials Science
DOI
10.1016/j.memsci.2022.120707