Effects of Clay on the Performance of Ultrafiltration Membrane for Landfill Leachate Treatment

This study investigates the effect of different concentrations of clay on the structure and performance of polysulfone (PSf) UltraFiltration (UF) membranes for landfill leachate treatment. The membranes were prepared by phase inversion method via dissolving PSf powder in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent at the presence of different content of clay. Performance and fouling behavior of prepared membranes were evaluated using a lab-scale cross-flow setup. The structure and morphology of the modified membranes were investigated by Field Emission ScanningElectron Microscopy(FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). The results confirmed that the adsorbent-modified UF membranes had higher flux and improved COD removal in comparison to the neat membrane. COD removal and NOM removal for 1.5% clay membrane was 35% and 51% respectively, and It was higher than the neat membrane (24% COD removal and 34% NOM removal). As the neat membrane was capable of reducing the COD by only 24%, It can be concluded that the addition of the adsorbents significantly enhanced the overall performance of the ultrafiltration membrane.