Fabrication of Anti-biofouling and Antibacterial Polysulfone Membrane Via Impregnation of Silver Nanoparticles

Biofouling is one of the paramount complications in membrane filtration systems, which are used to purify wastewater. It increases the price tag on processes while decreasing membrane permeability and period efficiency. In the study, mycologically derived AgNPs were tested using the strong antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Development of polysulfone membrane (Psf) infused with AgNPs for wastewater treatment, having antibacterial and antifouling properties was included in the study. Several water-drainage microbial insulates, e.g, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella choleraesuis, Shigella sonnei, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus appeared to be restrained against AgNPs of concentration 50-500 ppm. The AgNPs-impregnated Psf ultrafiltration membranes reduced the bacterial count (cfu/cm ) on the 7 , 21 , 30 and 45 day of experimentation in contrast to standard Psf 2 th st th th membranes. The plain Psf-membrane CFU of 118 and 308 cfu/cm at the 30 and 45 day while that of the Ag-2 th th Psf membrane was 20 and 36 cfu/cm The efficacy of this anti-biofouling agent was demonstrated using FTIR 2. and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization techniques. In FTIR, in addition to the typical highs of the Psf layer, a new top at 687 cm-1 with a -CH=CH-pattern in the cis transfiguration was also present, demonstrating the specific degradation of the membrane due to biofouling. The SEM images indicated that AgNPs exerted to prevent biofouling; thus, AgNPs proved to be a useful solution for limiting biofilm expansion and increasing membrane life.