Removal of mercury by using thin film composite membrane: article

In this study, a thin film composite membrane was synthesized by coating a layer of polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol and chitosan hybrid solution crosslinked with tetraethylorthosilicate on a polysulfone support membrane. The aim of this experiment is to study the effect of varying the PVA concentrations on the characterization and performance of the TFC membrane. Two different concentrations were selected and used which are 5 wt% and 6 wt%. FTIR and TGA were used in order to find the membrane structure meanwhile for the performance testing; pure water permeability was used for water flux, antifouling properties and mercury removal. Results show that 5 wt% PVA concentrations have superior membrane characterization and performance. Moreover, the blend membranes showed improvements in the removal of heavy metal ions.