Fabrication, Optimization, and Performance of a TiO2 Coated Bentonite Membrane for Produced Water Treatment: Effect of Grafting Time

Abstract

The main problem usually faced by commercial ceramic membranes in the treatment of produced water (PW) is low water flux even though ceramic membrane was well-known with their excellent mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. In the process of minimizing the problem faced by commercial ceramic membranes, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocomposites, which synthesized via a sol-gel method, were deposited on the active layer of the hydrolysed bentonite membrane. This paper studied the influence of grafting time of TiO2 nanocomposite on the properties and performance of the coated bentonite membranes. Several characterizations, which are Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), contact angle, porosity, and average pore size, were applied to both pristine and coated bentonite membranes to compare the properties of the membranes. The deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of the coated bentonite membranes was successfully confirmed by the characterization results. The pure water flux performance showed an increment from 262.29 L h−1 m−² bar−1 (pristine bentonite membrane) to 337.05 L h−1 m−² bar−1 (Ti-Ben 30) and 438.33 L h−1 m−² bar−1 (Ti-Ben 60) as the grafting time increase but when the grafting time reached 90 min (Ti-Ben 90), the pure water flux was decreased to 214.22 L h−1 m−² bar−1 which is lower than the pristine membrane. The oil rejection performance also revealed an increase in the oil rejection performance from 95 to 99%. These findings can be a good example to further studies and exploit the advantages of modified ceramic membranes in PW treatment.

Nanoporous Membranes for the Filtration of Proteins from Biological Fluids: Biocompatibility Tests on Cell Cultures and Suggested Applications for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Among the various possibilities, atomic layer deposition (ALD) stands out for its ability to deposit compliant coatings on 3D nanostructured substrates, with outstanding thickness and uniformity control [ 11 ]. Various biocompatible materials, such as silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) or titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ), can be easily deposited by this technique to a thickness of a few nanometers [ 12 ]. These functional coatings allow for the modification of the pore size and geometry (cone-shaped pores) and also improve the biocompatibility and pre-selection of diffusive transport properties [ 13 ].…”

State-of-the-Art Mixed Matrix Membranes (MMMs)

“…The influence of the grafting time (30, 60, and 90 mins) of the TiO 2 nanocomposite on the properties and performance of the bentonite membranes, toward oil rejection and pure water flux, is studied by Mohamad Esham et al [ 4 ]. The authors used sol dip-coating and the sol-gel method to optimize the grafting time (30, 60, and 90 mins) of TiO 2 nanoparticles on a bentonite membrane.…”