Treatment of kitchen wastewater with MWCNTs membranes: Impact of non‑acidic oxidation and diameter

Alessandra Chew Fei Yee , Kah Chun Ho , Jiun Hor Low

Abstract

Massive amounts of kitchen wastewater mainly composed of organic colloidal matter is produced by the food service industry. In this study, the performance of nanocomposite membrane incorporated by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are evaluated. The effect of non-acidic oxidative reagents (NH4OH: H2O2) and diameter of MWCNTs was studied. Membrane characterization including surface functional groups, porosity and pore size, surface hydrophilicity, and membrane morphology was conducted. The results showed that the higher NH4OH/ H2O2 ratio (3:1) introduced more oxygen-containing functional groups on the oxidized MWCNTs (OMWCNTs). The large diameter of MWCNTs (20-30 nm) tend to produce nanocomposite membrane with bigger pore size and the oxidation of MWCNTs has further enhanced the membrane hydrophilicity. The highest membrane water permeability (245.50 L/m2 h bar) was attained by nanocomposite membrane (M2c) modified by larger diameter OMWCNTs with higher NH4OH/ H2O2 ratio (3:1). In terms of kitchen wastewater treatment, all nanocomposite membrane showed improved pollutant rejection for suspended solids (SS) (96.48-98.74%), turbidity (98.88-100%), color (61.54-66.67%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (28.42-38.92%), and total dissolved solids (TDS) (3.57-36.70%). Besides, the M2c nanocomposite membrane showed the highest antifouling performance compared to other nanocomposite membranes. This enhancement was attributed to the increased surface negative charge and formation of loose foulant layer on the membrane surface.

Key Words

kitchen wastewater; multi-walled carbon nanotubes; MWCNTs diameter; nanocomposite membrane; non-acidic oxidation; wastewater treatment

Address

Alessandra Chew Fei Yee — School of Engineering, Faculty of Innovation and Technology, Taylor's University, No. 1, Jalan Taylor's, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Kah Chun Ho, Jiun Hor Low — School of Engineering, Faculty of Innovation and Technology, Taylor's University, No. 1, Jalan Taylor's, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia/ Clean Technology Impact Lab, Taylor's University, No.1, Jalan Taylor's, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia/ Centre for Sustainable Societies, Taylor's University, No.1, Jalan Taylor's, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

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