Membranes synthesis study for colour removal of a textile effluent Original Research Article

In this work a study of asymmetric polymeric membranes synthesis was made for colour and turbidity removal of an industrial textile effluent, which was previously treated by a biological treatment. A 23 factorial planning was carried out using two levels (− and +), together with the factors: polymer type (polysulfone and polyvinilidene fluoride), polymer concentration and salt concentration (KCl 0% and 5%). This resulted in 8 membranes, which were synthesized by phase inversion process [3]. The physical process of separation by membranes (ultrafiltration) was studied to improve the color and turbidity removal of the textile effluent. In addition to the colour and turbidity parameters, an analysis was made of the permeate flux through the synthesized membranes. The best results of these parameters were obtained with the membranes: M1 (polysulfone 13% and salt 0%), M2 (polysulfone 13% and salt 5%) and M3 (polysulfone 18% salt 5%). Working with these results, three more membranes were synthesized for checking the membranes performances and the results confirmed these performances.