Novel Polyethersulfone (PES) Alpha-Zirconium Phosphate (α-ZrP) Ion Exchange Mixed Matrix Membranes for Effective Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater

In this study, novel polyethersulfone (PES) alpha-zirconium (α-ZrP) ion exchange mixed matrix membranes were fabricated via phase inversion method using nano-sized alpha-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP-n) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as dispersant nano-additives in the dope solution preparation. The impact of α-ZrP-n loading on the removal of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) from wastewater effluent was studied by varying the α-ZrP-n concentrations from 0.1 up to 1 wt.% while fixing the PES concentration at 10 wt.%. The composite membranes surface morphology was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle. The pure water flux was also determined under vacuum filtration while the removal of all heavy metals was carried out via the inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The optimal results incorportaing 0.3 wt.% α-ZrP (i.e. Z-2 membrane) showed 98, 86, and 99% removal efficiency of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II); respectively, and a water flux of 3013.5 L/m2h (MH) that was higher than that reported using the pristine PES membrane (i.e. 985 LMH). These findings suggested that the use of α-ZrP nanoparticles in membranes offers significant potential in heavy metal removal with a considerable high water flux.