Celluloses filled ENR/PVC membranes for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment

Abstract

Membranes from composite materials have been used especially in water treatment applications. In this paper the composite membranes of celluloses filled ENR/PVC were successfully prepared for POME treatment application. The preparation of the membrane involves solution blending, casting, phase inversion and drying methods. Two types of fillers, cellulose (Cell) and cellulose grafting polymethyl methacrylate (Cell-g-PMMA) were added into ENR/PVC matrix in various compositions (1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%) to determine the effect of the filler to the performance of the membrane. The membranes were characterized by using FTIR and SEM. Membrane properties in terms of porosity and water flux were examined using mathematical calculation. FTIR spectrum shows the existence of stretching vibration from the functional group of ester carbonyl,-C=O at peak 1725 cm-1 that belongs to Cell-g-PMMA filler in ENR/PVC/Cell-g-PMMA membrane which makes the membranes slightly hydrophobic. SEM micrographs exhibit that pores were formed on both ENR/PVC/Cell and ENR/PVC/Cell-g-PMMA membranes. Water flux test indicates that ENR/PVC/Cell-20% was the highest because the addition of Cell increases the hydrophilicity of the membrane. In POME treatment, ENR/PVC/Cell-20% and ENR/PVC/Cell-g-PMMA-10% showed the highest decolorization. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.