Experimental investigation of organic fouling mitigation in membrane filtration and removal by magnetic iron oxide particles

Here magnetic iron oxide particles (MIOPs) were synthesized under atmospheric air and which size was controlled by regulating the flow rate of alkali addition and used for efficient removal of bovine serum albumin (BSA) from water. The MIOPs were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transformation-Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results revealed a successful preparation of the MIOPs. The removal efficiency for BSA using MIOPs was found to be about 100% at lower concentrations (≥ 10 mg/L). The maximum adsorption of 64.7 mg/g for BSA was achieved as per the Langmuir adsorption model. In addition, microfiltration membrane for removal of BSA as model protein organic foulant is also studied. The effect of various MIOPs adsorbent sizes of 210, 680, and 1130 nm on the absorption capacity of BSA was investigated. Water permeability of the BSA integrated with the smallest size MIOPs membrane was increased by approximately 22% compared by the neat BSA membrane during dead-end filtration. Furthermore, the presence of small size MIOPs were also effective in increasing the permeate flux.