Sustainable photocatalytic water remediation via dual active strongly coupled AgBiO3 on PVDF/PBSA membranes

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2020-08, Vol.394, p.124777, Article 124777
• Main Authors: Boruah, Bhanupriya, Samantaray, Paresh Kumar, Madras, Giridhar, Modak, Jayant M., Bose, Suryasarathi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AgBiO3 immobilization; Antifouling; Bacterial inactivation; Photocatalytic dye degradation; PVDF/PBSA membranes; Water treatment
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.124777

[Display omitted] •Strongly coupled AgBiO3 based recyclable and reusable composite membranes with no significant leaching of Ag ions.•Enhanced water flux and protein fouling resistance with FRR 87 ± 5% and BSA as model foulant.•Complete E. coli remediation in the presence of light as well as dark conditions.•Effective bactericidal action against secondary wastewater verified by live/dead assay.•More than 83% degradation of recalcitrant Methylene Blue and 4-Nitrophenol. Due to the limited access to safe drinking water, there is an emerging need to have a quick water decontamination strategy wherein all the major contaminants of water like dyes, organic compounds, and pathogenic bacteria can be removed using a sustainable approach. Herein, we introduce a facile method to strongly couple photocatalytic dual active AgBiO3 (AB) (light and dark active) onto a membrane consisting of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and Poly (butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA). Due to this strong coupling, the integrity of the catalyst was retained, and no significant leaching of Ag ions from the composite membranes was observed. The bactericidal response of this composite membrane was assessed in the presence of light and dark using E. coli as the model bacterium. Also, the efficacy of this strategy was extended to decontaminate secondary treated wastewater. It was also observed that the photocatalytic activity of the composite membrane was durable and highly effective in degrading recalcitrant pollutants like methylene blue and 4-nitrophenol, which are considered here as models recalcitrants. This facile strategy, besides improving the flux, enhanced the protein fouling resistance against Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and rendered robust bactericidal action. Taken together, these membranes can be further explored for sustainable water remediation strategies.