Enhancing membrane performance for oily wastewater treatment: comparison of PVDF composite membranes prepared by coating, blending, and grafting methods using TiO(2), BiVO(4), CNT, and PVP.

This comparative study investigates the modification of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes with different nanoparticles (TiO(2) or TiO(2)-based composites containing BiVO(4) and/or CNT), using three distinct methods (blending, coating, and grafting) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The objective was to enhance the photocatalytic and filtration performance for the separation of oil-in-water emulsions. Regarding the UV activity, the PVDF-TiO(2)/CNT/PVP-coated membrane presented the best performance. Overall, the addition of 2 wt.% CNT to the TiO(2) notably enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the membranes for both UV and visible irradiations. Meanwhile, the presence of 2 wt.% BiVO(4) was beneficial only for photocatalysis under visible light irradiation. Regarding the filtration of the oil-in-water emulsions, 2 wt.% CNT or BiVO(4) addition resulted in the highest fluxes in the series of the PVDF-TiO(2)-grafted membranes. The presence of pore former PVP led to relatively high fluxes and photocatalytic activities for all series. Regarding the modification methods, coated membranes showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency and lowest fluxes. Grafted membranes showed relatively high photocatalytic efficiencies and the best filtration performances.