Polymeric membranes customized with super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for effective separation of pentachlorophenol and proteins in aqueous solution

Fouling is one of the substantial problems faced by membrane filtration industries. Nanocomposite polymeric membranes are customized for improved fouling resistance to overcome this issue. In the present study, super paramagnetic iron oxide nano additives (SPIONs) are incorporated into a polymer mixture containing poly(ether-ether sulfone)/poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) to prepare a unique nanocomposite polymeric ultrafiltration membrane. The presence of the nanoparticle in the synthesized nanocomposite membrane was analyzed by SEM, ATR-FTIR and XRD. The antifouling, rejection, and permeation properties of PEES/PMVEAMA/SPIONs hybrid membranes were analyzed using pollutant pentachlorophenol and protein molecules. The tailored polymeric membrane exhibited excellent porosity (81%), water content (46.8%), molecular weight cut off (20 kDa), and mean pore radius (4.1nm) by the addition of 1.5 wt% of iron oxide. The pure water flux of the PEES/PMVEAMA/SPIONs membrane (361.47 Lm −2 h −1 ) was improved significantly when compared to the pristine membrane (349.2 Lm −2 h −1 ). The increasing concentration of SPIONs augmented the permeation flux and exhibited excellent solute rejection of 289 Lm −2 h −1 and 43%, respectively, for pentachlorophenol. The rejection percentage of protein molecules is in the order of bovine serum albumin (BSA)> egg albumin >pepsin>trypsin. The modified membranes exhibited a higher flux recovery ratio and reduced the irreversible fouling. Overall, the polymeric membrane modified with SPIONs provides a new vision to membrane industries to enhance the antifouling properties.