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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]