Novel Multi-Channel Coated Silica Based Membranes Applied for Peat Water Ultrafiltration

Abstract

South Kalimantan-Indonesia is in the Southern part of Borneo which almost half of the population lives in remote areas. Geographically, people are isolated and have poor access to electricity as well as a clean water supply. It is very essential to ensure the availability of clean water produced from peat water to overcome future water shortages. This work performs the fabrication of multi-channel silica-based membranes applied for peat water ultrafiltration which is demonstrated under various transmembrane pressure (TMP) and top layer types. The silica based top layer membranes were fabricated from three different sources (silica-pectin, organosilica, and pure silica) via dipcoating method onto macroporous multi-channel alumina support (4 bore). Peat water was treated by multi-channel membranes through ultrafiltration process through cross flow system. According to the results, all multiples top layer pore size were obtained with range from 2.1 to 6 nm classified as mesoporous membranes. This process exhibited a promising outcome for removal natural organic matter (NOM) about 89-71% (UV₂₅₄ rejection) at TMP 1-3 bar, respectively. Besides that, normalized permeate fluxes of that membrane excellently stable over 180 min operation time. It is concluded that silica based multichannel membranes are either compatible to treat peat water that has high number of NOM as well as excellent to overcome membrane fouling.