Javad Yekrang

In this study, the nanocomposite membranes were electrospun using conventional polymers, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and polycarbonate (PC) at different levels of incorporation of the γ-alumina nanoparticles (1, 3 and 5 wt.%). Morphological investigation using SEM images showed that the diameters of the nanofibers were in the range of 155-491 nm. The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and FTIR test revealed the presence of the γ-alumina nanoparticles (NPs) and characteristic chemical groups in electrospun nanocomposite membranes (ENCMs). The contact angle test showed that the hydrophilic features of the membranes improved with the incorporation of γ-alumina NPs with the decrease of contact angle from 80° to 27°. Mechanical tests exhibited a drop in tensile strength and strain of the nanocomposite membranes by adding more γ-alumina NPs to the neat membrane. Filtration efficiency of ENCMs was evaluated using the submerged system with the humic acid (HA) solution. Results showed that the permeation flux of the membranes increased with an increase in the content of the γ-alumina NPs (from 49 to 102 L.m-2.h-1). The irreversible fouling ratio (IFR) of the membranes was also improved by increase in the content of the γ-alumina NPs up to 3 wt.%. Results also demonstrated the better anti-fouling performance for the blended nanofiber membrane with 3 wt.% of the nanoparticles (flux recovery ratio, FRR=94.4 %). HA rejection test also proved the enhanced foulant removal (99.6 %) of ENCM containing 3 wt.% γ-alumina NPs.