Coupled MXene-MoS2 membrane/NF treatment for oily wastewater

A novel amphiphilic nanocomposite low-pressure membrane was fabricated by incorporating 2D nanomaterials MXene (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) and oleophilic MoS 2 nanospheres into a cellulose polymer membrane substrate (CMN-MX), the hybrid nanocomposite membrane was used for oil droplets and toxic organic pollutant removal. The nanospheres of MoS 2 and 2D layers of MXene were confirmed by SEM and EDX characterization. The membrane’s performance was evaluated using an oil-in-water emulsion stabilized by lecithin, simulating petroleum-derived oily wastewater. The addition of MXene significantly improved petroleum removal efficiency to 89.45% and contributed catalytic generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which further supported antifouling and partial degradation of dissolved organics. Further, the CMN-MX membrane was employed as a pre-treatment step before nanofiltration (NF). The coupled CMN-MX/NF system removed 95.79% of oil and 74.64% of toxic dichlorophenol (DCP), markedly higher than that by NF alone, and demonstrated 50% less flux decline, confirming the efficacy of this pretreatment strategy. This research offers a new pathway for using non-RO membranes to treat complex industrial wastewater. The coupled MXene-MoS 2 Membrane/NF treatment offered adsorptive oil removal, catalytic decomposition and fouling mitigation, achieved efficient wastewater treatment.