Enhancing the efficiency of photocatalytic membrane reactors for textile effluent remediation

The textile industry is a major global water consumer and so a significant contributor of wastewater containing recalcitrant pollutants, including azo dyes, which are difficult to degrade and pose severe environmental risks. This study explored an innovative photocatalytic membrane reactor that utilizes polyethersulfone membranes embedded with titanium dioxide dispersed on graphene oxide nanosheets (TiO2-GO nanocomposites) to effectively treat real textile wastewater. The synergistic integration of GO and TiO2 can enhance photocatalytic activity and significantly improve the properties of the pristine PES membrane. The membranes were characterized using XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy, revealing a successful integration of TiO2-GO nanocomposites. Photocatalytic membranes exhibited better mechanical properties and antifouling performance compared to pristine PES membranes. The novel double-sided UV irradiation approach improved photocatalytic efficiency, achieving 92 % and 96 % decolorization for synthetic and real wastewater, respectively. In addition, the COD removal was 56 % and 78 % for synthetic and real matrices. The photocatalytic membranes exhibited reusability and minimal fouling, highlighting their potential for sustainable wastewater treatment. This study contributes significantly to advancing the use of photocatalytic membranes for industrial-scale remediation of textile wastewater.