Magnesium Chloride Removal by Nanofiltration Membranes Prepared from Cuprous Oxide Nanoparticles

In this study, Cu2O nanoparticles were first synthesized electrochemically, and the synthesized nanoparticles were used to modify nanofiltration membranes.  Different concentrations of nanoparticles were included as an additive in PES as a membrane matrix for the preparation of PES/Cu2O nanofiltration membranes. The prepared membranes were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR analysis showed the formation of favorable bonds in the synthesized nanoparticles and prepared membranes.  The separation performance of membranes was investigated with pure water flux and MgCl2 removal.  The results showed the highest pure water flux of 36.78 L/m2h for M1 at 0.05 wt.% Cu2O nanoparticles. In addition, the MgCl2 rejection increased to 72% at 2 wt.% Cu2O nanoparticles for M5.