FILTRATION OF MICRO AND NANOSIZE SUSPENDED PARTICLES VIA HIGHLY HYDROPHILIC ELECTROSPUN NANOFIBER MEMBRANES

摘要

Polymeric nanofiber membranes of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) blended with polyvinylpyrrolidonern(PVP) were fabricated using an electrospinning process at different conditions and used for thernfiltration of three different suspensions. They include the lake water, abrasive particles from arnwater jet cutter, and suspended magnetite nanoparticles to determine the efficiency of the filterrnmembranes. The major goal of the current research work was to create highly hydrophilicrnnanofiber membranes and utilize them to filter the suspended liquids at an optimal level ofrnpurification (i.e., drinkable level). In order to overcome the fouling/biofouling/blocking problemsrnof the membrane, coagulation, which enhances the efficiency of the membrane in the removal ofrncolloidal particles, was used as a pre-treatment process. Two coagulants, Tanfloc and Alum,rnwere chosen during the coagulation process. The removal efficiency of the suspended particles inrnthe liquids was measured in terms of turbidity, pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS). It wasrnobserved that the coagulation/filtration experiments have shown higher efficiency in the removalrnof turbidity compared to the direct filtration process performed without any coagulation and filterrnmedia.