Experimental and theoretical investigations on polycaprolactone based composite membranes

Abstract

Membrane separation is a well-established technique for the treatment of wastewater producing high quality treated effluent. It is a non-destructive separation with efficient elimination of particles, suspended solids and microorganisms (MF, UF), volatile and non-volatile organics and dissolved inorganic matter (NF, reverse osmosis). A wide variety of membranes are used for the treatment and purification based on the wastewater characteristics. Among them, polymeric membranes are of primary interest, as the polymers can be easily modified and made compatible with different materials (polymers and nanofillers) to improve the membrane performance. The performance is primarily evaluated based on porosity, hydrophilicity, permeability and anti-fouling. The present work focuses on the application of polycaprolactone or PCL, a biodegradable polymer, based membrane synthesised by phase inversion technique for the treatment of wastewater. The enhancement in the properties of membranes was analysed with the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles and Montmorrillonite (or nanoclay, MMT) and the performance of the membranes was evaluated based on the percentage rejection of Congo red dye and Cadmium metal ions. The membrane with 1 wt% TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited 69% Cadmium ion rejection and relatively low rejection with the addition of MMT.