Development of Photocatalytic Ultrafiltration Membranes for Enhanced Removal of Carbamazepine: Optimization and Mechanistic Insights

Carbamazepine (CBZ), a persistent antiepileptic drug, poses significant challenges in water treatment due to its recalcitrance to conventional degradation methods. This study presents a breakthrough in CBZ removal by integrating a photocatalytic ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with precisely engineere...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zohaib Ur Rehman Afridi, Hassan Younas, Abdul Jabbar Ehsan, Shahzada Muhammad Sajid Jillani, Muhammad Ahsan Amjed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/je/6698866
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Summary:Carbamazepine (CBZ), a persistent antiepileptic drug, poses significant challenges in water treatment due to its recalcitrance to conventional degradation methods. This study presents a breakthrough in CBZ removal by integrating a photocatalytic ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with precisely engineered surface-immobilized TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated via an innovative technique developed in our prior work. The UF process, conducted under UV irradiation at 0.5 L/min crossflow, demonstrated exceptional performance when optimizing membrane composition (18% PVDF, 5% ethanol, and 1.5% embedded TiO2) and surface TiO2 NP density (3.04 g/m2), achieving 80% CBZ rejection with a high permeate flux of 100 L/m2/h at low pressures (0.05–0.1 MPa). Crucially, membranes lacking surface TiO2 NPs showed negligible CBZ removal, regardless of UV exposure or pressure, underscoring the necessity of photocatalytic activation. Further analysis revealed that increasing pressure (0.05 → 0.1 MPa) and CBZ concentration (1 → 4 mg/L) reduced rejection efficiency (80% → 42% and 80% → 55%, respectively), highlighting the interplay between operational parameters and membrane performance. This work establishes a groundbreaking strategy for enhancing CBZ elimination, offering critical insights for advancing engineered membrane technologies in water treatment applications.
ISSN:2314-4912