Flat Sheet PSF/PVP Ultrafiltration Membrane for Leachate Treatment

Ultrafiltration membrane had proven to be effective in treating organic and physical contaminants from water and wastewater. Nevertheless, this membrane technology has its challenge due to its higher selectivity. The membrane selectivity is influenced by the materials used to fabricate a membrane. Recently, an additive was added into membrane formulation to modify surface roughness, increase hydrophilicity and alter membrane charge. Therefore, this study is focused on the exploration of new membrane formulation for leachate treatment. Process involved in this study includes dope formulation and fabrication, characterization and performance of the newly fabricated flat sheet membrane. Flux rate and salt rejection indicated that the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as an additive increased the formation of microvoids in the sublayer and improved pore interconnectivity in the membrane. Addition of PVP into polysulfone (PSF) and N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) mixture causes increases of solution viscosity and strong interaction with polymers. Then, the dope precipitation was delayed and led to decrease size of pores, PVP is hydrophilic which can attract a large amount of water which is 46 L/m2 h to pass through the membrane. This flat sheet membrane with weight percent of 21 wt%:76 wt%:3 wt% for PSF:DMAc:PVP showed excellent performance in the membrane system for leachate treatment with the result of approximately 100% rejection of heavy metals. In conclusion, this new membrane formulation tailored for leachate treatment is able to discharge treated effluent leachate that satisfies the Standards requirement of Environment Quality Act (EQA) 2009.