Wastewater treatment of real effluents by microfiltration using poly(vinylidene fluoride–hexafluoropropylene) membranes

Abstract

Over the last decades, the growing contamination of wastewater, mainly caused by industrial processes, improper sewage, natural calamities, and a variety of anthropogenic activities, has caused an increase in water-borne diseases. Notably, industrial applications require careful consideration as they pose significant threats to human health and ecosystem biodiversity due to the production of persistent and complex contaminants. The present work reports on the development, characterization, and application of a poly (vinylidene fluoride—hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) porous membrane for the remediation of a wide range of contaminants from wastewater withdrawn from industrial applications. The PVDF-HFP membrane showed a micrometric porous structure with thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability and a hydrophobic nature, leading to high permeability. The prepared membranes exhibited simultaneous activity on the removal of organic matter (total suspended and dissolved solids, TSS, and TDS, respectively), the mitigation of salinity in 50%, and the effective removal of some inorganic anions and heavy metals, achieving efficiencies around 60% for nickel, cadmium, and lead. The membrane proved to be a suitable approach for wastewater treatment, as it showed potential for the simultaneous remediation of a wide range of contaminants. Thus, the as-prepared PVDF-HFP membrane and the designed membrane reactor represent an efficient, straightforward, and low-cost alternative as a pretreatment step for continuous treatment processes for simultaneous organic and inorganic contaminants’ remediation in real industrial effluent sources.