Effect of Nanophotocatalyst WO3 Addition on PVDF Membrane Characteristics and Performance

The addition of photocatalyst materials in the membrane has great potential to increase membrane performance and characteristics. In this study, nano photocatalysts WO3 were added to the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane for process water treatment from rubber industry. The results of SEM and XRD showed the presence of nano photocatalyst WO3, indicating the successfully embedded nano photocatalyst in PVDF membranes. The addition of nano photocatalyst materials has increased hydrophilicity by increasing the membrane's water uptake ability and decreasing the membrane's contact angle. The PVDF-WO3-2%wt membrane showed the highest flux value at 64.29 L m−2 h−1 with 96.40%, 85.61%, and 93.88% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solid (TDS), and ammonia rejection, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation effect of PVDF-WO3 is proven by a significant difference in the filtration results under vis-light irradiation. Membrane resulted in a better performance in photo-filtration (visible light) than in the dark condition. The PVDF-WO3-2%wt membrane also showed an excellent reusability after being used for 8 hours of the photo-filtration process. This research is promising to increase the use of photocatalytic membranes in rubber wastewater treatment into clean water.