Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Faculty of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
2
Membrane Research Center, Advanced Research Center for Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
10.22078/pr.2025.5634.3498
Abstract
Water and wastewater treatment is one of main strategies to overcome the water sagacity/pollution. The membrane processes are among efficient approaches to address this issue. In this study, asymmetric graphene oxide (GO) membranes were fabricated on modified α-alumina substrates via vacuum filtration to achieve high-efficiency salt rejection from aqueous solutions. The fabricated membranes were evaluated by structural and functional characterization methods, including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Structural evaluations revealed that the membrane exhibits a multilayer architecture, with graphene oxide uniformly coating the gamma-alumina interlayer surface. The behavior (permeability and salt rejection) of the fabricated membranes in the removal of sodium chloride and calcium chloride salts with different concentrations (200, 500 and 1000 ppm) from aqueous solutions was investigated. The results showed that the permeation flux of this membrane in the processing of different sodium chloride and calcium chloride salt solutions is almost constant and equal to 3.86 LMH.Bar-1. This stability in the permeation flux indicates a stable and favorable performance of the membrane in the salt filtration process. This work investigates the mechanism of salt rejection in the fabricated composite membrane. The results show that under optimal conditions, the membrane permeation is about 4.5 LMH.Bar-1 and the membrane salt rejection for sodium chloride and calcium chloride solution feeds (200 ppm) reaches 55.2 and 65.6 %, respectively. The research results indicate the high potential of asymmetric graphene oxide membranes fabricated on modified substrates for low-pressure water desalination.
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