Benzene and Toluene Removal from Saline Water with Coupled Membrane Process and Nanophotocatalyst

Water resources pollution with petroleum hydrocarbons is one of the most important problems in clean water supply for drinking and sanitary purposes. In this study, the simultaneous reduction of salinity and PAH (benzene and toluene) from the contaminated water has been investigated with membrane process (Forward Osmosis) coupled with photocatalysis. The amount of membrane flux, and the treatment efficiency of toluene and benzene through three various membrane including PES, CTA and CTA/TiO2 have been investigated. Based on the results from three types of membrane, the amount of toluene and benzene removal in combined method has been seen 74% and 41% respectively. Also, membrane surface modification with nano-photo catalyst particles has reduced membrane fouling; moreover, the membrane surface has increased membrane flux, and removed benzene and toluene from feed water.