Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process

Abstract Wastewater from the oil and gas industry is notoriously challenging to treat due to its complex composition. In this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used to modify graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles for the synthesis of PSf based thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes through the inter...

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Main Authors: Hafsa Bano, Norwahyu Jusoh, Nadia Hartini Suhaimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11383-2
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author Hafsa Bano
Norwahyu Jusoh
Nadia Hartini Suhaimi
author_facet Hafsa Bano
Norwahyu Jusoh
Nadia Hartini Suhaimi
author_sort Hafsa Bano
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Wastewater from the oil and gas industry is notoriously challenging to treat due to its complex composition. In this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used to modify graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles for the synthesis of PSf based thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes through the interfacial polymerization (IP) technique, aimed at oil removal from wastewater. The composite membrane, incorporated with GO, at different PVP loadings (0.025 wt%, 0.030 wt%, and 0.035 wt%) were fabricated and characterized using FESEM, AFM, ATR-FTIR, UV–Vis spectra, tensile strength and contact angle goniometer. It is found that with the presence of PVP-GO inside the TFN membranes, it exhibited higher surface hydrophilicity due to an increment in hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in the polyamide (PA) layer, which improves the attraction between water molecules and membrane surface. TFN membrane assimilated with 0.035 wt% PVP-GO achieved 48.871 L/m2.h and flux recovery ratio of 88% of water flux with decreased contact angle up to 46° and thin film thickness of 137 nm as compared to the TFN membranes without the addition of PVP with 34.118 L/m2.h of water flux. Overall, the PVP-modified GO nanocomposite membranes in this work demonstrated promising performance for oil-in-water emulsion separation, which makes them an attractive candidate for industrial water separation especially for produced water treatment.
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spelling doaj-art-adc6e38a0d0c4ecda3fb043b18275c392025-08-20T03:46:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111810.1038/s41598-025-11383-2Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis processHafsa Bano0Norwahyu Jusoh1Nadia Hartini Suhaimi2Center of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCCUS), Institute of Sustainable Energy and Resources (ISER), Universiti Teknologi PETRONASCenter of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCCUS), Institute of Sustainable Energy and Resources (ISER), Universiti Teknologi PETRONASInstitute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Putrajaya Campus, Jalan Ikram-UnitenAbstract Wastewater from the oil and gas industry is notoriously challenging to treat due to its complex composition. In this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used to modify graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles for the synthesis of PSf based thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes through the interfacial polymerization (IP) technique, aimed at oil removal from wastewater. The composite membrane, incorporated with GO, at different PVP loadings (0.025 wt%, 0.030 wt%, and 0.035 wt%) were fabricated and characterized using FESEM, AFM, ATR-FTIR, UV–Vis spectra, tensile strength and contact angle goniometer. It is found that with the presence of PVP-GO inside the TFN membranes, it exhibited higher surface hydrophilicity due to an increment in hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in the polyamide (PA) layer, which improves the attraction between water molecules and membrane surface. TFN membrane assimilated with 0.035 wt% PVP-GO achieved 48.871 L/m2.h and flux recovery ratio of 88% of water flux with decreased contact angle up to 46° and thin film thickness of 137 nm as compared to the TFN membranes without the addition of PVP with 34.118 L/m2.h of water flux. Overall, the PVP-modified GO nanocomposite membranes in this work demonstrated promising performance for oil-in-water emulsion separation, which makes them an attractive candidate for industrial water separation especially for produced water treatment.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11383-2Graphene oxidePolyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)Thin film nanocomposite membraneForward osmosisOily wastewater
spellingShingle Hafsa Bano
Norwahyu Jusoh
Nadia Hartini Suhaimi
Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
Scientific Reports
Graphene oxide
Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)
Thin film nanocomposite membrane
Forward osmosis
Oily wastewater
title Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
title_full Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
title_fullStr Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
title_full_unstemmed Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
title_short Synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
title_sort synergistic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone and graphene oxide in thin film nanocomposite membranes for oily wastewater treatment via forward osmosis process
topic Graphene oxide
Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)
Thin film nanocomposite membrane
Forward osmosis
Oily wastewater
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11383-2
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AT nadiahartinisuhaimi synergisticeffectsofpolyvinylpyrrolidoneandgrapheneoxideinthinfilmnanocompositemembranesforoilywastewatertreatmentviaforwardosmosisprocess