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Abstract
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In this study, PC/CuO ultrafiltration adsorptive mixed matrix membranes (AMMM) were synthesized
using phase inversion method to remove lead (Pb (II)) and cadmium (Cd (II)) from a petrochemical
plant synthetic effluent. The effects of CuO on pure water flux, hydrophilicity, porosity and
membrane adsorption capacity were studied. FESEM and AFM tests were used to investigate the
structure and surface roughness of the prepared membrane. The results showed that by increasing
the loading of CuO in AMMM, the total porosity, average pore size, hydrophilicity, surface roughness
and water flux increased. The heavy metal adsorption on PC/CuO-AMMMs were adequately
interpreted by the Langmuir isotherm. Our findings showed that the membrane produced with the
highest loading of CuO had the highest adsorption capacity and offers a maximum adsorption
capacity of 22.9 and 21.6 g/m2 for lead and cadmium respectively. By placing the cation-saturated
AMMMs in a regeneration solution, up to 95% and 94%, respectively, for lead and cadmium
adsorption recovery was experienced. This indicates the reversibility of the fabricated membranes
to remove lead and cadmium cations via a simple regeneration method in a multicycle process.
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