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. 2014 Oct 22;12(1):127.
doi: 10.1186/s40201-014-0127-1. eCollection 2014.

Removal of amoxicillin from wastewater by self-made Polyethersulfone membrane using nanofiltration

Ahmad Moarefian  1 , Hossein Alizadeh Golestani  2 , Hooman Bahmanpour  3
Affiliations

Removal of amoxicillin from wastewater by self-made Polyethersulfone membrane using nanofiltration

Ahmad Moarefian et al. J Environ Health Sci Eng. .

Abstract

The present study investigated the performance of a self-made nanofiltration (NF) membrane for the removal of antibiotics from wastewater under changing operating conditions such as pH, initial feed concentration, operating pressure, and temperature. Amoxicillin (AMX) was used as one of the commonly prescribed antibiotics. A self-made NF membrane containing Polyethersulfone (PES), and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was modified with Polyethylene glycol hexadecyl ether (Brij®58) surfactant. The self-made membrane was characterized by water contact angle, zeta potential, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, and scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The obtained results showed that the AMX rejection and permeation flux by the self-made membrane varied from 56.49% to 99.09% and from 15.14 L/m(2)h to 110.29 L/m(2)h, respectively. The AMX rejection decreased at a higher level of initial feed concentration while other operating parameters such as pH, operating pressure, and temperature had a negligible effect on the removal of AMX from wastewater by the self-made NF membrane. The highest removal rate was achieved under conditions of pH 9.0, a temperature of 298 K, an operating pressure of 2 MPa, and an initial feed concentration of 20 ppm. According to the research findings, the self-made NF membrane is recommended for the removal of AMX to a considerable extent at low initial feed concentrations.

Keywords: Amoxicillin removal; Nanofiltration; Polyethersulfone membrane; Wastewater treatment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of PES, PVP 40, NMP, Brij®58 and AMX.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic diagram of the NF set-up.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM cross-section of the self-made membrane at magnifications of A) 300×, B) 500×, and C) 2500×.
Figure 4
Figure 4
PWF vs. operating pressure at T = 298 K for PES/PVP/Brij®58 Membrane.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Zeta potential of the self-made NF membrane as function of pH values.
Figure 6
Figure 6
ATR-FTIR spectra of the PES/PVP and PES/PVP/Brij®58 membranes.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Rejection of AMX vs. operating pressure at varying temperature and initial feed concentration. A) 20 ppm/pH = 5.27, B) 20 ppm/pH = 7.0, C) 20 ppm/pH = 9.0, D) 400 ppm/pH = 5.01, E) 400 ppm/pH = 7.0, F) 400 ppm/pH = 9.0.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Permeation Flux vs. operating pressure at varying temperature and initial feed concentration. A) 20 ppm/pH = 5.27, B) 20 ppm/pH = 7.0, C) 20 ppm/pH = 9.0, D) 400 ppm/pH = 5.01, E) 400 ppm/pH = 7.0, F) 400 ppm/pH = 9.0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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