Fabrication of hierarchical porous MgO/cellulose acetate hybrid membrane with improved antifouling properties for tellurium separation

• Published in: Cellulose (London) 2021-11, Vol.28 (16), p.10549-10563
• Main Authors: Shao, Xue, Chen, Xiaoping, Qiu, Zhiwei, Yao, Guanglei, Qiu, Fengxian, Zhang, Tao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antifouling; Bioorganic Chemistry; Cellulose acetate; Ceramics; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Glass; Hydrogen bonding; Magnesium oxide; Membranes; Morphology; Natural Materials; Organic Chemistry; Original Research; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Regeneration; Separation; Structural hierarchy; Superconductors (materials); Sustainable Development; Tellurium; Thermal stability; Wastewater; Water treatment
• ISSN: 0969-0239; 1572-882X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10570-021-04207-9

Considerable toxic tellurium-containing wastewater has been discharged into water environment and constantly accumulates, due to the widespread applications but low utilization of tellurium, causing irreversible harm to the environment and human health, thus it is crucial to find an efficient strategy for tellurium separation. Herein, hierarchical porous magnesium oxide modified cellulose acetate membranes (MgO@CAM) were prepared via a facile physical blending and phase inversion method for tellurium separation. Diverse characterization methods and batch separation experiments were conducted to investigate the morphological structure of MgO@CAM, tellurium separation mechanism, and the separation behavior under different influencing factors. The results exhibit that MgO@CAM has a hierarchical porous structure and a hydroxyl-rich surface, which facilitates the separation of tellurium. Besides, MgO@CAM reveals eligible regeneration performance, good stability and thermal stability due to the hydrogen bonding and skeletal structure of cellulose acetate. The study on the effect of pH suggests that an acidic environment is more conducive to the separation of tellurium by MgO@CAM, and the prepared membranes show outstanding separation efficiency of tellurium, with a maximum of 97.6%. Furthermore, the membranes also achieve satisfactory separation efficiency of tellurium in the presence of multiple coexisting ions. Thomas dynamics indicate the practical application of MgO@CAM in tellurium separation. More importantly, prominent hydrophilic enables MgO@CAM to demonstrate excellent antifouling performance. Therefore, the preparation of hierarchical porous MgO@CAM provides an efficient and economic strategy for tellurium separation in wastewater and has promising applications in water treatment. Graphic abstract