Effective separation of salts and dye using egg shell membrane (ESP) incorporated polyethersulfone polymer material

Abstract

There is a large demand for the utilization of biowaste to separate salts and dyes from wastewater. The biowaste of eggshell membrane (ESM) was derived from chicken eggshell, and the ESM solution in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was incorporated into polyethersulfone (PES) membranes to improve their material and separation properties. The PES membrane was prepared with different volumes of the ESM/DMSO solution (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mL) and was added to prepare three modified PES membranes using the phase inversion method. The reduction in the contact angle from 63.7 to 48.7° was accompanied by improvement in hydrophilicity of the modified PES membranes. These PES/ESM blend membranes were characterized based on porosity, swelling ability, and morphology. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy helped determine the thermal stability and structural changes, respectively, of the modified PES membranes. The separation of methylene blue and sulforodamine B dyes and NaCl and MgSO4 salts by using PES and PES/ESM membranes were studied. The modified PES/ESM membranes exhibited higher flux rates for all the dyes and salts tested.