Enhancement of mixed matrix ultrafiltration polyethersulfone membrane incorporated with iron oxide nanoparticle for humic acid removal

The Dry-Wet Phase inversion method was used to prepare the Polyether-sulfone Mixed Matrix Membrane (PES-MMM). Different concentrations of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (IONPs) were added to the casting solution M2, M3, M4, and M5. In this study, the effects of IONPs on the morphology, performance, hydrophilicity, and anti-fouling of the fabricated PES-IONPs-MMM were analyzed. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), contact angle, porosity, water content and pure water flux (PWF) measurements were used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the fabricated PES-IONPs-MMM membranes. Among to this membrane, the hydrophilicity of the PES-IONPs-MMM (M5) surface was enhanced due to the increase in membrane surface water affinity. Also, the porosity of PES-IONPs-MMM (M5) has increased from 75.77% to 86.94%. The anti-fouling performance of the membrane fouled by Humic Acid (HA) solution was analyzed by measuring the fouling resistance parameters. The Relative Flux Reduction (RFR) of the PES MMM (M5) membrane has decreased from 23.30% to 19.34 while the Flux Recovery Ratio (FRR) has been increased from 61.88% to 79.33%.