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Electrospun Gum Arabic-Pvdf Based Adsorbent and Filter Production for Gray Water Treatment
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Researchers created nanofiber membranes from PVDF plastic reinforced with natural gum arabic, achieving 100% rejection of microplastics and 99% rejection of dye contaminants in greywater filtration tests. Effective microplastic removal from domestic wastewater is essential since treatment plants are a major pathway for plastics entering rivers and ultimately the food supply.
Gray water is a major component of domestic wastewater, containing pollutants such as surfactants, dyes, oils, nitrates, and phosphates. Effective treatment of gray water is critical in terms of increasing water scarcity and sustainable water management. In this study, gum arabic (GA) was used as a low-cost, biocompatible, and functional additive to enhance the properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. Electrospinning was employed to fabricate nanofiber membranes by incorporating GA into PVDF at different weight ratios (1–5 wt%). The membranes were characterized using SEM, FTIR, TGA, and DSC to assess morphological, chemical, and thermal properties. SEM analysis revealed uniform fiber distribution without pilling, and GA addition slightly reduced fiber diameters. Thermal analysis confirmed improved thermal stability and altered degradation behavior with GA. Results showed that the contact angle decreased with GA addition, indicating increased hydrophilicity. Tensile strength increased from 6 MPa to 12.5 MPa at 3 wt% GA. Adsorption experiments for methylene blue (MB), oil, microplastics (MP), and anionic surfactants (LAS) were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Filtration tests demonstrated rejection rates of 99% for MB, 87% for oil, and 100% for MP. LAS rejection efficiency increased from 26 to 67.63% at 2 wt% GA. However, adsorption performance remained limited. The results show that the developed PVDF/GA membranes have high potential in the filtration-based treatment of gray water and that this technology can be applied to similar types of wastewater.
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