Performance of PCL/TiO2 composite membrane for the effective treatment of dairy effluents

This work aims the utilisation of Polycaprolactone (PCL) based membrane for the treatment of dairy wastewater for the first time to the best of our knowledge. PCL is a biodegradable polymer with high biocompatibility and good oil resistance. The chlorine tolerance analysis of PCL based membrane exhibited a good tolerance against chlorine. The PCL/TiO2 nanocomposite membrane with the addition of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was prepared and tested for protein separation. The dependency of contact angle with time was analysed for the membrane and the contact angle value dropped from 74.5 +/- 2 degrees to a steady value of 65 +/- 2 degrees in 120 s. The proteins were removed using a cross-flow filtration unit at an operating pressure of 4 bars at room temperature with permeate flux of 10 l/m(2) h and a relative permeate flux of about 0.10. The removal of proteins was measured qualitatively using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and quantitatively using Lowry's test. A percentage rejection of 97.6 was obtained and the native PAGE showed the complete removal of all the major proteins present in the milk sample.