MCM-41 mesoporous modified polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes and their prospects for dyes removal

This research presents the development of composite membranes incorporating MCM-41 mesoporous material which poses the potential to diminish membrane fouling by organic dyes molecules; a major problematic in leather tanning and textile industries. MCM-41 mesoporous was successfully synthesised and incorporated into polyethersulfone (PES) via the classical non induced phase separation (NIPS) at several loading ratios (0–1 wt.%). Characterisation process was carried out by a series of experimental tools to evaluate the composite membranes. All modified membranes displayed a notable enhancement in their hydrophilicity, roughness, porosity, mechanical strength. Besides that, composite membranes showcased an increase in their antifouling activity against the two dye models, Acid Black and Rose Bengal with increasing the MCM-41 ratio up to 0.5 wt.%. The fabricated PES-NF membranes manifested greater performance in terms of permeation characteristics compared to the pristine PES membrane, while maintained their selectivity against both dye solutions as high as 99%.