ZrO2-TiO2 Incorporated PVDF Dual-Layer Hollow Fiber Membrane for Oily Wastewater Treatment: Effect of Air Gap

Dual-layer hollow fiber (DLHF) nanocomposite membrane prepared by co-extrusion technique allows a uniform distribution of nanoparticles within the membrane outer layer to enhance the membrane performance. The effects of spinning parameters especially the air gap on the physico-chemical properties of ZrO2-TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated PVDF DLHF membranes for oily wastewater treatment have been investigated in this study. The zeta potential of the nanoparticles was measured to be around –16.5 mV. FESEM–EDX verified the uniform distribution of Ti, Zr, and O elements throughout the nanoparticle sample and the TEM images showed an average nanoparticles grain size of ~12 nm. Meanwhile, the size distribution intensity was around 716 nm. A lower air gap was found to suppress the macrovoid growth which resulted in the formation of thin outer layer incorporated with nanoparticles. The improvement in the separation performance of PVDF DLHF membranes embedded with ZrO2-TiO2 nanoparticles by about 5.7% in comparison to the neat membrane disclosed that the incorporation of ZrO2-TiO2 nanoparticles make them potentially useful for oily wastewater treatment.