Performance evaluation of a ceramic -based photocatalytic membrane reactor for treatment of oily wastewater

Discharge of untreated oily wastewaters could bring about dire consequences, such as environmental catastrophes. In order to address this problem, a Photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) comprised of TiO2/γ-Al2O3-modified ceramic membrane was prepared for treatment of synthetic oily wastewater under UV illumination. The structure, morphology and phase composition of the layer of modified membranes were characterized through analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) images. The main influencing parameters on permeate flux and total organic carbon (TOC) removal were: flow rate, transmembrane pressure (TMP), TiO2 photocatalysts and feed oil concentration. Additionally, photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/γ-Al2O3-modified ceramic membrane was investigated. It was found that TOC removal efficiency of the TiO2/γ-Al2O3-modified ceramic membrane upon UV illumination considerably improved. The average permeate fluxes of the TiO2/γ-Al2O3-modified ceramic membrane for 500 and 1000 ppm oil as feed were around 1053 and 966 L/m2.h, respectively, under the applied 1.5 bar TMP and flow rate of 32.16 ml/min. Significant removal efficiencies higher than 90 % were achieved under the mentioned conditions. The experimental results achieved through this research enable us to develop the opportunity for oily wastewater treatment and its responsible disposal on a large-scale for environmentally-friendly purposes. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd