Hollow fiber membranes of polysulfone/attapulgite for oil removal in wastewater

Wastewater treatment and saltwater desalination are ways to confront water scarcity in the world. The objective of this research is the development of polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membranes and their respective hybrids with attapulgite clay (UBM) for effluents treatment. Membranes were produced by PSf, with 10, 15 and 20% of clay, from the phase inversion method, by the cold extrusion technique with the immersion precipitation. With the addition of attapulgite there is a reduction in the viscosity of the solutions, which may have affected the final morphology of the membranes. By X-ray diffraction of membranes, it is possible to observe a certain intercalation of the polymer among the clay lamellae for the lowest concentrations and for the highest concentrations there is a composite formation. Membranes hydrophilicity was analyzed from the contact angle, noting that the clay favor the increase of their hydrophilicity. Later, hollow fiber membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and flow measurements, showing that the different clay contents modifie the membrane morphology and flow. Emulsified oil wastewater from the processing of petroleum with the permeate obtained through the flow measurements were analyzed by turbidity, and turbidity reduction results greater than 98.0% is obtained for membranes containing clay. Moreover, yields higher than 99.0% are observed in the treatment of emulsified oil wastewater from the processing of petroleum. The membrane with 20% clay presented the best results for turbidity and oil rejection. [GRAPHICS]