A novel Polyethersulfone/Chamomile (PES/Chm) mixed matrix membranes for wastewater treatment applications

• Published in: Journal of Saudi Chemical Society 2024-03, Vol.28 (2), p.101805, Article 101805
• Main Authors: Raja, Rana I., Rashid, Khalid T., Toma, M.A., AbdulRazak, Adnan A., Ahmed Shehab, Mohammed, Hernadi, Klara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chamomile leaves; Hydrophilicity; Mixed Matrix Membranes; Polyethersulfone (PES); Ultrafiltration process
• ISSN: 1319-6103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jscs.2023.101805

In order to address the limitation of low flux in ultrafiltration (UF), a suitable additive is introduced into the base polymer to modify the membrane morphology, thereby enhancing flux rates. In this study, chamomile leaf nanoparticles (Chm NPs) were investigated as a novel green material for utilizing in UF membrane synthesizes. To enhance comprehension of the influence of Chm on the synthesis of PES UF membranes, a series of membranes were fabricated by including different quantities of Chm into the casting solution; (0, 0.5, 1.5, and 2 wt. %.). The synthesized membranes were fully characterized, through the porosity, pore size, hydrophilicity, membrane morphology, and UF efficiency. Manufactured PES/Chm membranes demonstrated significantly increased permeate water flux (PWF) (up to 498 kg/m2 h), which was four times that of the pristine PES membrane (116 kg/m2 h), besides that the bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Congo red dye (CR) rejection of PES/Chm membranes was still kept high. The enhanced PWF was mostly due to the more porous membrane structure and increased hydrophilicity. Meanwhile, the higher surface hydrophilicity of the PES/Chm membranes resulted in greater antifouling performance and the high flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 93 %. Based on the results of this research, the Chm may be used as a novel green additive with substantial application potential in the fabrication of UF membranes wastewater treatment.