Synthesis and Characterization of Zero Valent Iron/Cellulose Acetate (Fe0-x/CA) Membranes for the Catalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Media by Activating Peroxymonosulfate

The present study is focused on the synthesis of zero-valent iron/cellulose acetate (Fe⁰-x/CA) membranes by phase inversion route for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The generated ^•OH and SO₄^•− effectively degraded methylene blue (MB) dye in water to give comparatively non-toxic byproducts. The SEM investigations revealed that Fe⁰ nanoparticles are evenly dispersed into the CA membrane resulting in decline of agglomeration and enhancing the roughness of the composite surface. Moreover, the catalytic degradation of MB demonstrated that M5-alone showed 85% and was further boosted to 97% when coupled with PMS (M5/HSO₅⁻). The catalytic degradation of degradation of MB by M5/HSO₅⁻ membrane system in acidic, neutral, and basic media indicated that the degradation was 99.5%, 98.0%, 97.0%, 86.0% and 70.0% when the pH of the medium was 3, 5, 7, and 11, respectively. Furthermore, the degradation performance of M5/HSO₅⁻ membrane system was evaluated in de-ionized water (DIW), tape water (TPW) and industrial wastewater (IWW) and the results indicated that MB catalytic degradation was in the order of DIW (97%) > TPW (84%) > IWW (68%). Besides, various parameters like water flux permeability, contact angle, porosity, and fouling performance were also investigated. In addition, the degradation products were evaluated, and the degradation pathways were proposed accordingly.

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