Effect of Tetramethylurea (TMU) on Polysulfone Membrane Performance for Atrazine-containing Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Tetramethylurea (TMU) is a good solvent for organic substances and has received little attention as compared to other solvents. The TMU is a polar solution and is one of the molecules with an amphiphilic character. In the present work, an attempt has been made to use TMU as an additive in the preparation of nanofiltration membranes to improve the hydrophilicity of the membrane. The polysulfone membrane has been modified by incorporating different concentrations of TMU (0, 0.5, and 1 wt.%) in order to check the rejection of atrazine in water. This study aim is to optimize the conditions to enhance the flux and the rejection of atrazine. It was observed that the rejection of atrazine was enhanced when feed pH changed to acidic and with increasing the evaporation time. The prepared membranes were subjected to different analyses, such as contact angle measurement, FTIR, porosity, and mean pore size. The effect of the coagulation bath, evaporation time, and pH on the atrazine rejection was also studied. Membrane with 0.5 wt.% TMU shows maximum rejection of atrazine at the operating pressure of 15 kgf/cm2.