Membranes manufactured from reused polyamide fibers for the treatment of textile effluents

Abstract

Abstract Microfiltration membranes were prepared by phase inversion technique from polyamide 66 (PA66) synthetic fiber waste, with addition of mass titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ammonium chloride as pore-forming agent. The hybrid solutions showed higher viscosity due to the formation of stable suspensions. Morphological analyses showed an increase in porous and density of the membranes due high specific surface area of TiO2. The hybrid membranes exhibited greater water absorption, porosity, pore radius compared to pure PA66, due to the increased hydrophilicity, size and number of pores promoted by TiO2. Membranes presented more than 99% of dye removal efficiency for turbidity and selectivity and removal above 91% for color, met water quality standards. The 3% TiO2 membrane exhibited the highest water flux (269.82 L.m-2.h-1), maintaining high dye rejection efficiency (99.64%), demonstrating a balance between permeability and selectivity. Therefore, it was found that hybrid membranes have potential for the treatment of textile industry effluents.