Synthesis of nanocomposite membranes embedded with cellulose nanocrystals and their application to filtrate of arsenic aqueous solutions

Abstract

The present study focused on the performance enhancement of thin-film nanocomposite membranes by incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals to remove arsenic from water in the nanofiltration process. The nanofiltration membranes were fabricated by interfacial polymerization. The fabricated membranes were prepared by the addition of different amounts of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) at concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5% and 1 wt.% coded NF0, NF0.1, NF0.5 and NF1, respectively. The properties of the membranes were investigated by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, and water contact angle test. The results showed that after 200 min, the water flux through the NF0 and NF1 membranes was approximately 260 and 148 L/m2 h, respectively. Results also showed that the anti-sediment property was improved with the increasing CNC content of the membranes, by increasing the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface or negative surface charge of CNC. The maximum percentage of arsenic removal of 96.45% was achieved for the feed mixture at an initial arsenic concentration of 5 mg/L, using NF0.5 membrane for 45 min.