Preparation and characterization of polysulfone/organoclay adsorptive nanocomposite membrane for arsenic removal from contaminated water

Abstract Organoclay embedded polysulfone (PSf) nanocomposite membranes were prepared for arsenate removal from contaminated surface water. Prepared membranes consisted of different weight ratios of organoclay to polymer, ranging from 0 to 2.0 wt% and were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, AFM, pure water flux, mechanical strength, contact angle measurement and adsorption experiments. Obtained results showed that pure water flux, surface hydrophilicity, roughness and mechanical strength of the membranes increased as organoclay content increased from 0 to 2.0 wt%. XRD analysis confirmed the exfoliated structure of organoclay in membrane when its content increased from 0.5–1.5 wt%. Further increase in organoclay content; up to 2.0 wt%, resulted in the intercalated structure of dispersed organoclays in membrane matrix. Adsorption kinetic of arsenate was found to follow pseudo-second-order kinetic model and equilibrium data showed good correlation with the Langmuir model. The obtained results also revealed that the arsenate adsorption was most favorable in the neutral pH. Moreover, membrane reusability of the 1.5 wt% and 2.0 wt% organoclay embedded PSf membranes was assessed by conducting five cycles of adsorption experiments and membrane regeneration in dead-end filtration. Obtained results confirmed the applicability of the prepared membrane for multiple cycles.