Characterization of electrospun polystyrene membrane for treatment of biodiesel's water-washing effluent using atomic force microscopy

The application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for characterization of electrospun microporous membranes was assessed. The surface roughness, pore size and its distribution, nodule size as well as fiber diameter were analyzed for an electrospun polystyrene membrane before (M1) and after surface modification via contact-heating (CH) method (M2). It was found that thermal modification has improved the overall surface morphology and topography, exhibiting a decrease in mean pore size and nodule size, lowering roughness parameters, which led to more uniform and circular pore geometry, and higher hydrophobicity. As a result, separation performance was improved when the membranes were used for the treatment of biodiesel's wash water effluent. It was also observed that both membranes were effective in treating the highly polluting saponified wastewater. In particular, the application of M1 resulted in the reduction rates of 58, 26, 92, 95 and 50%, respectively, for COD, BOD, TS, TDS and TSS. More promising reduction rates were achieved with M2, where those of COD, BOD, TS, TDS and TSS were at 75%, 55%, 92%, 96% and 30%, respectively. The multi-objective separation mechanism of electrospun membranes (screening, depth filtration and adsorption), could be the cause of their superior separation performance.

[1]  P. A. Arroyo,et al.  Influence of acidified water addition on the biodiesel and glycerol separation through membrane technology , 2013 .

[2]  Nehemias Curvelo Pereira,et al.  Separation of biodiesel and glycerol using ceramic membranes , 2010 .

[3]  Ali Kargari,et al.  Production of drinking water from seawater using membrane distillation (MD) alternative: direct contact MD and sweeping gas MD approaches , 2014 .

[4]  H. Jin,et al.  Preparation of superhydrophobic polystyrene membranes by electrospinning , 2008 .

[5]  Nancy G. Tassi,et al.  Controlling Surface Morphology of Electrospun Polystyrene Fibers: Effect of Humidity and Molecular Weight in the Electrospinning Process , 2004 .

[6]  Meisam Tabatabaei,et al.  Acceleration of biodiesel-glycerol decantation through NaCl-assisted gravitational settling: a strategy to economize biodiesel production. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[7]  Meisam Tabatabaei,et al.  Upstream and downstream strategies to economize biodiesel production. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[8]  R. L. Skelton,et al.  Comparison of purification methods for biodiesel , 2008 .

[9]  Nidal Hilal,et al.  Atomic force microscope studies of membranes: Surface pore structures of Cyclopore and Anopore membranes , 1996 .

[10]  Youssef Habibi,et al.  Electrospun nanocomposites from polystyrene loaded with cellulose nanowhiskers , 2009 .

[11]  Ahmad Fauzi Ismail,et al.  Polymeric nanofiltration membranes for textile dye wastewater treatment: Preparation, performance evaluation, transport modelling, and fouling control — a review , 2009 .

[12]  A. Ismail,et al.  Preparation and characterization of electro-spun nanofiber membranes and their possible applications in water treatment , 2013 .

[13]  R. N. Wenzel RESISTANCE OF SOLID SURFACES TO WETTING BY WATER , 1936 .

[14]  I. M. Atadashi,et al.  Refining technologies for the purification of crude biodiesel , 2011 .

[15]  Goutham Viswanadam Water–diesel secondary dispersion separation using superhydrophobic tubes of nanofibers , 2013 .

[16]  M. Khayet Membranes and theoretical modeling of membrane distillation: a review. , 2011, Advances in colloid and interface science.

[17]  T. Matsuura,et al.  Characterization of synthetic membranes by Raman spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, and atomic force microscopy; a review , 2000 .

[18]  P. A. Arroyo,et al.  Biodiesel production from degummed soybean oil and glycerol removal using ceramic membrane , 2011 .

[19]  Seeram Ramakrishna,et al.  Production of drinking water from saline water by air-gap membrane distillation using polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber membrane , 2008 .

[20]  Jianmao Yang,et al.  Nanoporous polystyrene fibers for oil spill cleanup. , 2012, Marine pollution bulletin.

[21]  Bryan B. Sauer,et al.  AFM and X-ray Studies of Crystal and Ionic Domain Morphology in Poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) Ionomers , 2000 .

[22]  Soon Huat Tan,et al.  Membrane technology as a promising alternative in biodiesel production: a review. , 2012, Biotechnology advances.

[23]  E. Delyannis,et al.  Desalination by using alternative energy: Review and state-of-the-art , 2007 .

[24]  I. Chin,et al.  Unique surface morphology of electrospun polystyrene fibers from aN,N-dimethylformamide solution , 2005 .

[25]  Seeram Ramakrishna,et al.  Electrospun nanofibrous filtration membrane , 2006 .

[26]  Jaeweon Cho,et al.  Determination of membrane pore size distribution using the fractional rejection of nonionic and charged macromolecules , 2002 .

[27]  David M Bagley,et al.  Recent advances in membrane technologies for biorefining and bioenergy production. , 2012, Biotechnology advances.

[28]  Z. Tu,et al.  Fabrication of Multilayered Hollow Nanofibers and Estimation of Its Young's Modulus , 2007 .

[29]  Tahereh Kaghazchi,et al.  Application of membrane separation processes in petrochemical industry: a review , 2009 .

[30]  Meisam Tabatabaei,et al.  High quality potassium phosphate production through step-by-step glycerol purification: a strategy to economize biodiesel production. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[31]  Swee Hin Teoh,et al.  Nanofibrous modification on ultra-thin poly(e-caprolactone) membrane via electrospinning , 2007 .

[32]  B. C. Ng,et al.  Recent advances of inorganic fillers in mixed matrix membrane for gas separation , 2011 .

[33]  M. Tabatabaei,et al.  Characterization of polymeric membranes for membrane distillation using atomic force microscopy , 2013 .

[34]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[35]  A. Rahimpour,et al.  The effect of non-contact heating (microwave irradiation) and contact heating (annealing process) on properties and performance of polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes , 2009 .

[36]  S. Subramanian,et al.  New directions in nanofiltration applications — Are nanofibers the right materials as membranes in desalination? , 2013 .

[37]  Fu Liu,et al.  Effect of solvent power on PVDF membrane polymorphism during phase inversion , 2013 .

[38]  Tahereh Kaghazchi,et al.  A mathematical modeling of two industrial seawater desalination plants in the Persian Gulf region , 2010 .

[39]  Meisam Tabatabaei,et al.  Importance of the methanogenic archaea populations in anaerobic wastewater treatments , 2010 .

[40]  A. Livingston,et al.  Assessment of atomic force microscopy for characterisation of nanofiltration membranes , 2013 .

[41]  S. Homaeigohar,et al.  Polyethersulfone electrospun nanofibrous composite membrane for liquid filtration , 2010 .

[42]  M. Rafizadeh,et al.  Preparation of aminated-polyacrylonitrile nanofiber membranes for the adsorption of metal ions: comparison with microfibers. , 2011, Journal of hazardous materials.

[43]  W. Richard Bowen,et al.  Modelling of membrane nanofiltration—pore size distribution effects , 2002 .

[44]  Meisam Tabatabaei,et al.  Biodiesel production from genetically engineered microalgae: Future of bioenergy in Iran , 2011 .

[45]  I. M. Atadashi,et al.  Biodiesel separation and purification: A review , 2011 .

[46]  Ahmad Fauzi Ismail,et al.  Radioactive decontamination of water by membrane processes - A review , 2013 .

[47]  Seeram Ramakrishna,et al.  Electrospun nanofibrous polysulfone membranes as pre-filters: Particulate removal , 2007 .

[48]  Zlatica J. Predojevic,et al.  The production of biodiesel from waste frying oils: A comparison of different purification steps , 2008 .

[49]  A. Cassie,et al.  Wettability of porous surfaces , 1944 .

[50]  A. Fane,et al.  A comparative study of techniques used for porous membrane characterization: pore characterization , 1994 .

[51]  Ali Kargari,et al.  Direct contact membrane distillation for seawater desalination , 2012 .

[52]  Phase contrast imaging of SEBS triblock copolymer studied by carbon nanotubes probe , 2005 .