Phenol removal from synthetic solution using low pressure membranes coated with graphene oxide and carbon

Abstract

Phenol is considered to be a priority pollutant due to its toxicity and carcinogenic effect. Thus, innovative and effective methods have been developed to remove undesired phenol from wastewater. Membrane processes are one of the innovative and effective methods used for the removal of phenol from wastewater. In this study, we investigate the effect of carbon and graphene oxide (GO) coating on phenol removal efficiencies of microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration membranes. Obtained results show the removal efficiencies of all membranes increase with rising pressure. Among all membranes, the carbon-coated nanofiltration membrane (NF90) showed the highest performance with a removal efficiency of 99% under a pressure of 6 bars. The physico-chemical properties of the coated and uncoated membranes were investigated by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and contact angle techniques (WCA).