Evaluation of dynamic behavior of hydrophilic and photocatalytic self-cleaning PES nanofiltration membrane post treating biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (POME)

The photocatalytic nanocomposite NF membranes blended with K-B-N triple TiO2 were fabricated employing conventional wet phase inversion method. The dynamic performance of the photocatalytic membranes was evaluated by filtering biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) at dark and light conditions. The performance of the chosen membrane was checked using central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) under continuous visible light irradiation and various variables in a dynamic mode. According to experimental results, the 0.5 wt. % membrane indicated less flux reduction without scarifying COD rejection capacity as a function of time while filtering POME under continuous visible light irradiation. The largest values of FRR and COD removal efficiency were reported to be 97 % and 100 %, respectively, at the highest feed flow rate of 150 L/min, the lowest operating pressure of 5 bar, and the lowest COD concentration of 1000 mg/L. While, the highest value of flux (33.9 kg/m(2)h) was obtained at operating pressure of 9 bar, feed flow rate of 50 L/h and COD concentration of 1000 mg/L. By judging from results, the photocatalytic NF membrane by benefiting from both photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties has enough potential to be applied in practical applications.