Fabrication and Characterization of UiO66-NH2 Blended PVC Membranes to Enhance Mazut Removal from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to fabricate mixed matrix membranes of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that contain Uio6-NH2 metal–organic framework (MOF) with reasonable wettability for treating mazut/water solutions. The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize Uio66-NH2 particles and then were used with different weight ratios of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. The morphology, phase analysis, functional groups evaluation, porosity, and mechanical strength of samples were determined by FESEM, XRD, FTIR, BET, and tensile tests. Moreover, pure water flux experiments and analysis of mazut/water emulsion separation were carried out using an ultrafiltration setup. The results showed that with the addition of the synthesized Uio6-NH2 to the membrane composition some of the membrane properties such as porosity, pore size, hydrophilicity, and pure water flux were enhanced. However, this ascending trend in the membrane properties was observed with an increase in the Uio66-NH2 loading up to 0.2 wt% compared to the pure membrane. These findings suggest that incorporating Uio66-NH2 into the PVC matrix improved the membrane properties and enhanced the efficiency of mazut/water emulsion separation. The PVC-MOF0.2 membrane demonstrated superior performance with high mazut rejection efficiency and shorter separation time than the pure membrane.