Improving the Performance of Polysulfone-nano ZnO Membranes for Water Treatment in Oil Refinery with Modified UV Irradiation and Polyvinyl Alcohol

Abstract

Refinery wastewater is generated from the process of refining large amounts of oil. Oil refined wastewater contains micron-scaled emulsion droplets, and sub-micron droplets that are difficult to remove from water, which poses problems for researchers. Membrane technology is widely used in water treatment because it is very selective and effective in the filtration process. This research focuses on oil refinery water treatment using polysulfone (PSF) membrane ZnO nano composites modified with ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and polyvinyl alcohol. This membrane was prepared using the dry / wet phase inversion method. Then-the membrane was modified using UV irradiation and coated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). PSF-nano ZnO modifications have an impact on membrane performance; UV irradiation showed an increase in the value of membrane pure water flux from 4.5 Lm–2h–1 to 5.7 Lm–2h–1. However, after UV irradiation, the rejection value decreased after UV irradiation, whereas the presence of PVA as a coating agent increased the rejection value to 77.2 % for Total Dissolve Solid (TDS) rejection, 76 % for Chemical Oxyugen Demand COD rejection, and 65.3 % for ammonia rejection. This value was higher than that obtained for membranes without PVA coating, namely only 47.3 % for TDS, 51.1 % for (COD), and 29.4 % for ammonia rejection. Modifications with UV and PVA irradiation provide interrelated effects to improve membrane performance.