Nano Iron Oxide Impregnated Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) Ultrafiltration Membrane for Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment

   

Chia Siang Ooi, Mieow Kee Chan*
Centre for Water Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, SEGi University

Journal of Engineering & Technological Advances
Vol. 4, Issue 2, pp. 11-23 (2019)
https://doi.org/10.35934/segi.v4i2.11

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Abstract

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is highly organic loaded liquid waste in the palm oil industry. Membrane technology is preferred as the tertiary treatment due to the high removal efficiency and low space requirement. However, membrane fouling is the drawback of membrane technology, which increases the operational cost. Thus, the objective of this research is to improve the anti-fouling property of poly(vinylidene-fluoride) (PVDF) membrane by using nano - Fe3O4 as the additive. Nano - Fe3O4 was synthesized through chemical reduction method, and it was proved by the Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectrum. The nano iron oxide was added to the Poly(vinylidene-fluoride)/ Polyvinylpyrrolidone solution and cast into membranes. The hydrophilicity of nano - Fe3O4 modified the membrane surface and improved the antifouling property. This was proved by the lower contact angle of PVDF/ nano - Fe3O4 membranes (70.99°) compared to the neat membrane (77.13o ). PVDF/ nano - Fe3O4 membranes exhibited better separation performance compared to the neat membrane, especially in BOD removal. PVDF/nano iron oxide membrane removed 94.73% of BOD while 88.67% BOD was removed by the neat membrane. At the same time, the membranes exhibited consistent COD and TSS removal in the first 5 cycles in treating POME. A slight reduction in BOD removal was observed from the first cycle to the fifth cycle suggested the use of other membrane cleaning method is required to remove the foulants. In conclusion, nano - Fe3O4 improved the anti-fouling property of PVDF membrane, and a comprehensive 12 study on membrane cleaning shall be conducted in the near future for sustainable use.

Keywords:

Palm Oil Mill Effluent, Poly(Vinylidene-Fluoride), Iron Oxide Nanoparticles, Antifouling Property, BOD