A Robust PVDF-Assisted Composite Membrane for Tetracycline Degradation in Emulsion and Oil-Water Separation

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 11; no. 12; p. 3201
• Main Authors: Li, Huijun, Xu, Xin, Wang, Jiwei, Han, Xuefeng, Xu, Zhouqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.11.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Antibiotics; Antifouling substances; Catalysts; Cellulose acetate; Contamination; Degradation; Descaling; Emulsions; Energy consumption; Fluorides; glass fiber; Glass fibers; GO/NH2-MIL-101(Fe); Graphene; Hydrophilicity; Hydrophobicity; Materials selection; Mechanical properties; Membrane separation; Membranes; Nanocomposites; Oil; Oil pollution; oil-water separation; Polyvinylidene fluorides; Pore size; PVDF membrane; Recoverability; Separation; tetracycline degradation; Water pollution; China; PVDF membrane; glass fiber; tetracycline degradation; GO/NH2-MIL-101(Fe); oil-water separation
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano11123201

Tetracycline (TC) contamination in water has progressively exacerbated the environmental crisis. It is urgent to develop a feasible method to solve this pollution in water. However, polluted water often contains oil. This paper reported a glass fiber (FG)-assisted polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hybrid membrane with dual functions: high TC degradation efficiency in emulsion and oil-water separation. It can meet the catalytic degradation of tetracycline in complex water. This membrane was decorated by coating the glass fiber with PVDF solution containing hydrophilic graphene oxide hybridized NH -MIL-101(Fe) particles. Moreover, due to its strong mechanical strength enhanced by the glass fiber, it can be reused as TC degradation catalysts for dozens of times without cracking. Thanks to the hydrophobicity of PVDF and the surface pore size of MOFs, the prepared membrane showed a good oil-water separation performance. Besides, the hydrophilic graphene oxide (GO) and NH -MIL-101(Fe) improved the membrane's anti-fouling performance, allowing it to be reused as the separation membrane. Therefore, the outstanding stability and recoverability of the membrane make it as a fantastic candidate material for large-scale removal of TC as well as oil-water separation application.