Ceramic supported attapulgite-graphene oxide composite membrane for efficient removal of heavy metal contamination

• Published in: Journal of membrane science 2019-12, Vol.591, p.117323, Article 117323
• Main Authors: Liu, Wei, Wang, Danjun, Soomro, Razium Ali, Fu, Feng, Qiao, Ning, Yu, Yun, Wang, Ran, Xu, Bin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attapulgite; Ceramics; Graphene oxide; Heavy metal contamination; Nano-filtration
• ISSN: 0376-7388; 1873-3123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117323

Ceramic supported graphene oxide (GO)/Attapulgite (ATP) composite membrane (GOA) was simply prepared by vacuum filtration for efficient removal of heavy metal contamination. The ATP nanorods were incorporated within the laminar layers of GO, influencing the interlayer distance and facilitating greater number of channels for enhanced water transportation. The GOA possessed greater surface wettability with improved water flux rate of 6.3 L m−2 h−1 compared to 0.4 L m−2 h−1 measured for its pristine counter-part. The GOA demonstrated excellent rejection efficiency (nearly 100%) for heavy metal ions such as Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+. The excellent separation efficiency of GOA could be ascribed to the synergic combination of size exclusion effect based on the formation of 3D network structures between the GO layers and increased electrostatic interaction in between the negatively charged surface moieties of GOA and heavy metal ions. More importantly, the use of Al2O3 as a support substrate resulted in improved stability and allowed extended usage of the membrane for a period of 3500 min while maintaining 99% rejection efficiency for Cu2+ ions. The high flux rate, great water stability and prominent rejection capability of the designed membrane is suggestive of its practical application in removal of heavy metal contamination from water. [Display omitted] •Ceramic supported GO-ATP membrane was simply prepared by vacuum filtration.•Incorporation of ATP nanorods enhances the surface wettability and water flux.•Al2O3 is an excellent substrate support that prolonged the stability of the GOA.•The GOA demonstrates excellent water stability with high flux rate.•The GOA exhibits excellent rejection of nearly 100% for heavy metal ions.