Membrane application is widespread in water filtration to remove natural organic matter (NOM), especially humic acid. However, there is a significant concern in membrane filtration, which is fouling, which will cause a reduction in the membrane life span, a high energy requirement, and a loss in product quality. Therefore, the effect of a TiO₂/PES mixed matrix membrane on different concentrations of TiO₂ photocatalyst and different durations of UV irradiation was studied in removing humic acid to determine the anti-fouling and self-cleaning effects. The TiO₂ photocatalyst and TiO₂/PES mixed matrix membrane synthesised were characterised using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), contact angle, and porosity. The performances of TiO₂/PES membranes of 0 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, and 5 wt.% were evaluated via a cross-flow filtration system regarding anti-fouling and self-cleaning effects. After that, all the membranes were irradiated under UV for either 2, 10, or 20 min. A TiO₂/PES mixed matrix membrane of 3 wt.% was proved to have the best anti-fouling and self-cleaning effect with improved hydrophilicity. The optimum duration for UV irradiation of the TiO₂/PES mixed matrix membrane was 20 min. Furthermore, the fouling behaviour of mixed matrix membranes was fitted to the intermediate blocking model. Adding TiO₂ photocatalyst into the PES membrane enhanced the anti-fouling and self-cleaning properties.

Polylactic Acid (PLA) is a pronounced biodegradable polymer which has been developed to be used in a broad range of applications due to its biocompatibility and

Rice husk ash (RHA), a waste product of the rice mill, is rich in silica. This study aimed to investigate the use of RHA as a potential adsorbent for the removal of free fatty acid (FFA) from the waste frying oil (WFO). Acid pre-treatment of RH prior to combustion using hydrochloric acid (HCl) was proposed to improve its adsorption performance. The synthesized acid-pretreated RHAs were characterized using Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). It was found that the aRHAs achieved higher silica purity with low levels of organic impurities as compared to untreated RHA. Additionally, aRHAs possessed porous morphology, especially when treated with higher HCl concentration, as revealed by SEM analysis. EDS analysis confirmed the high silica purity with negligible amount of metal impurities for all the RHAs. For adsorption kinetic models and adsorption isotherms, results showed that the intraparticle diffusion model and the Langmuir isotherm gave the best description to the experimental data with the lowest Chi-square values, reported at 0.02 and 5.46, respectively.

In this study, the rubber blend of raw Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) and recycled Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (r-EPDM) were prepared by comp In this study, the rubber blend of raw Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) and recycled Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (r-EPDM) were prepared by comp

This research aims to fabricate and analyze asymmetric polylactic acid (PLA) membranes and evaluate their performance in the removal of methyl orange (MO) dye through a microfiltration process. The asymmetric PLA membranes were synthesized via the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. A polymer solution containing 14 wt.% PLA dissolved in 86 wt.% N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) was prepared with varying amounts of TiO₂ (0, 0.5, and 1.0 wt.%). The cast membranes were immersed in a coagulant bath consisting of methanol and distilled water in an 80:20 ratio. Several characterization methods were employed: membrane porosity was measured using the gravimetric method and hydrophilicity was assessed by water contact angle. Membrane performance was evaluated in terms of water flux and permeability under a transmembrane pressure of 1 bar, as well as the removal efficiency of methyl orange dye. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the membranes was investigated to determine its effect on dye removal. The results showed that membrane porosity decreased with increasing TiO₂ content (from 53.7% to 45.1%), while water contact angle also decreased (from 72.7° to 56.1°), indicating improved hydrophilicity. The incorporation of TiO₂ enhanced water flux (11,526.8–14,628.4 L/m²h), permeability (5763.4–7314.2 L/m²h·bar), and methyl orange removal efficiency (65–69.8%). Furthermore, photocatalytic reactions further improved dye removal efficiency with increasing TiO₂ content (up to 84.3%).