(117as) Development of Nanoengineered Photocatalytic Membranes for the Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water: An Integrated System

The removal of emerging contaminants of concern such as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) is an important consideration to produce safe drinking water and to discharge environmentally friendly wastewater. In this study, an integrated system was developed to simultaneously degrade and filter selected emerging contaminants of concern in water. Key parameters such as time, pH, water matrix, mixing speeds, flow rate, and light intensity showed an undeniable effect on photocatalytic and membrane separation processes. For the graphene oxide quantum dots-based membranes (GQDs-Ms): the incorporating graphene oxide quantum dots (GQDs) into the polymer matrix led to enhanced hydrophilicity, pore size, porosity, improved flux as well as superior inhibition of bacteria cells. Whereas the addition of ferrites improved mechanical and rejection properties of membranes, inorganic salts and EDCs through the electrostatic exclusion and size exclusion mechanism. The possible EDCs degradation mechanism was presented based on intermediates detected by Quadrupole Time-of-Flight (QTOF) Mass Spectrometry. The overall integrated system achieved 99 % of EDCs removal efficiency. The system optimization was based on improving irradiation to generate more reactive species and mass transfer to increase the reaction rate. The simulated flow field revealed the presence of zones with different velocities in the reactor.