Enhancing the PES membrane performance by incorporating nanostructured Chrysopogan zizanioides for effective removal of ammonia from aquatic environment

Chrysopogan zizanioides embedded polyether sulfone (PES) membranes were fabricated using phase inversion method. The surface morphology, surface roughness, functional groups and thermal stability of the prepared pure (M0) and composite membranes with different weight percent of Chrysopogan zizanioides (M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5) were analysed. The contact angle, porosity and mechanical strength of pure and nanoparticles incorporated membranes were studied. The hydrophilicity of M4 membrane was relatively higher compared to other membranes. The porosity of membranes enhanced from 30.8 % (for M0) to 69.1 % (for M5). The tensile strength of membranes increased from 0.77 MPa (for M0) to 3.16 MPa (for M4) as the nanoparticles content increases in the membrane and slightly decreased for M5 (3.0 MPa). The adsorption of ammonia was studied for the prepared membranes by adsorption studies. M4 membrane showed relatively higher ammonia removal efficiency of 95.8 % compared to other membranes. The adsorption kinetics studies revealed that pore diffusion is dominant in the ammonia adsorption for both membranes. Isotherm studies were performed for M0 and M4 and the data well-fitted with Langmuir isotherm confirming the monolayer adsorption of ammonia. Reusability studies revealed that the membrane retain 86 % of efficiency after five cycles indicating the regeneration capacity.