The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal

Ready-made or commercial hollow fiber (HF) membranes have limited performance for removing humic acid (HA) from water streams unless they undergo surface modification. Alternatively, a membrane can be tailor-made specifically for HA removal by developing a new formulation and adjusting its fabricati...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nor Azura, C. Mahmud, Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik, Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman, Mohd Sobri, Takriff, Ang, Wei Lun, Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/1/The%20influence%20of%20air%20gap%20length%20on%20the%20characteristics%20and%20performance.pdf
_version_ 1848827057523392512
author Nor Azura, C. Mahmud
Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik
Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman
Mohd Sobri, Takriff
Ang, Wei Lun
Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff
author_facet Nor Azura, C. Mahmud
Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik
Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman
Mohd Sobri, Takriff
Ang, Wei Lun
Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff
author_sort Nor Azura, C. Mahmud
building UMP Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Ready-made or commercial hollow fiber (HF) membranes have limited performance for removing humic acid (HA) from water streams unless they undergo surface modification. Alternatively, a membrane can be tailor-made specifically for HA removal by developing a new formulation and adjusting its fabrication parameters. In this study, to enhance the performance and antifouling properties of HF membranes, a hybrid membrane was developed by blending polyethersulfone (PES) with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The effect of air gap length during the dry–wet spinning process was investigated, ranging from 3 cm to 12 cm, to regulate the properties of the hybrid membrane. The membranes were evaluated in terms of morphology (FESEM and AFM), porosity, and hydrophilicity (contact angle). Water flux, HA rejection, and flux recovery ratio (FRR) were also measured. The air gap length significantly influenced the fiber structure, with the finger-like structure expanding from the outer surface to the center of the fiber as the air gap extended up to 9 cm. This increase in air gap length resulted in a significant reduction in porosity, decreasing from 75.59% to 43.45%, while simultaneously enhancing the contact angle from 78° to 89.60°. The membrane produced at a 9 cm air gap length exhibited the best performance, with a pure water flux of 15.83 LMH, HA rejection over 95%, and a high FRR of 98.78%. The synergistic effect of combining CNC with MWCNT and simply adjusting the air gap distance proves to be an effective approach for preparing custom-made HF membranes for HA removal.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T03:54:40Z
format Article
id ump-44212
institution Universiti Malaysia Pahang
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T03:54:40Z
publishDate 2024
publisher John Wiley & Sons
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling ump-442122025-03-26T01:29:20Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/ The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal Nor Azura, C. Mahmud Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman Mohd Sobri, Takriff Ang, Wei Lun Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff TP Chemical technology Ready-made or commercial hollow fiber (HF) membranes have limited performance for removing humic acid (HA) from water streams unless they undergo surface modification. Alternatively, a membrane can be tailor-made specifically for HA removal by developing a new formulation and adjusting its fabrication parameters. In this study, to enhance the performance and antifouling properties of HF membranes, a hybrid membrane was developed by blending polyethersulfone (PES) with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The effect of air gap length during the dry–wet spinning process was investigated, ranging from 3 cm to 12 cm, to regulate the properties of the hybrid membrane. The membranes were evaluated in terms of morphology (FESEM and AFM), porosity, and hydrophilicity (contact angle). Water flux, HA rejection, and flux recovery ratio (FRR) were also measured. The air gap length significantly influenced the fiber structure, with the finger-like structure expanding from the outer surface to the center of the fiber as the air gap extended up to 9 cm. This increase in air gap length resulted in a significant reduction in porosity, decreasing from 75.59% to 43.45%, while simultaneously enhancing the contact angle from 78° to 89.60°. The membrane produced at a 9 cm air gap length exhibited the best performance, with a pure water flux of 15.83 LMH, HA rejection over 95%, and a high FRR of 98.78%. The synergistic effect of combining CNC with MWCNT and simply adjusting the air gap distance proves to be an effective approach for preparing custom-made HF membranes for HA removal. John Wiley & Sons 2024-12-23 Article PeerReviewed pdf en http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/1/The%20influence%20of%20air%20gap%20length%20on%20the%20characteristics%20and%20performance.pdf Nor Azura, C. Mahmud and Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik and Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman and Mohd Sobri, Takriff and Ang, Wei Lun and Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff (2024) The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal. Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering. pp. 1-13. ISSN 1932-2135. (In Press / Online First) (In Press / Online First) https://doi.org/10.1002/apj.3187 https://doi.org/10.1002/apj.3187
spellingShingle TP Chemical technology
Nor Azura, C. Mahmud
Syed Mohd Saufi, Tuan Chik
Mazrul Nizam, Abu Seman
Mohd Sobri, Takriff
Ang, Wei Lun
Mohd Helmi, Ab Latiff
The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title_full The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title_fullStr The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title_full_unstemmed The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title_short The influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
title_sort influence of air gap length on the characteristics and performance of hybrid polyethersulfone/cellulose nanocrystal/multiwalled carbon nanotubes hollow fiber membrane for humic acid removal
topic TP Chemical technology
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/44212/1/The%20influence%20of%20air%20gap%20length%20on%20the%20characteristics%20and%20performance.pdf