Reduction of chemical oxygen demand and color from the rice mill wastewater by chitosan/2(5H)-furanone-incorporated ultrafiltration membrane system

Abstract

ABSTRACT Improper disposal of high organic load rice mill effluent may cause adverse impact to the environment. In the present study, we fabricated anti-biofouling polyethersulfone (PES) membrane by incorporating chitosan (CH) and 2(5H)-furanone loaded chitosan (FCH) nanoparticles for the effective treatment of rice mill effluent. As prepared, membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and atomic force microscopy. Membrane performance was evaluated by rice mill effluent filtration studies. PES/1.5 wt.% FCH membrane showed the higher flux rate with lesser fouling reduction ratio of 32%, chemical oxygen demand rejection of 63%, and color reduction of 67%. Moreover, it exhibited the better anti-biofouling resistance than the neat PES membrane. Abbreviations: CH: Chitosan nanoparticles; FCH: Furanone loaded chitosan nanoparticles; COD: Chemical oxygen demand; DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide; PES: Polyethersulfone; QSI: Quorum sensing inhibition; PVC: Polyvinyl chloride; BSA: Bovine serum albumin; TPP: Sodium tripolyphosphate; NMP: N-methyl pyrrolidone; MA: MacConkey agar; HA: Humic acid; OD: Optical density; TEM: Transmission electron microscopy; NIPS: Non-solvent induced phase separation; FESEM: Field emission scanning electron microscope; AFM: Atomic force microscopy; PWF: Pure water flux