SURFACE MODIFICATION OF POLYPROPYLENE MEMBRANE WITH POLYDOPAMINE AND REDUCED GRAPHENE OXIDE FOR ENHANCED FLUX AND ANTIFOULING PROPERTIES

• Main Author: Tri Yuniarti, Anggun
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/68417
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Hydrophilic modification is a promising method to overcome the problem of fouling in polypropylene (PP) membranes. The presence of a hydrophilic oxygen functional group in reduced graphene oxide (RGO) makes it a potential candidate for PP membrane modification. Moreover, RGO can be synthesized from waste batteries with good quality, environmentally friendly, and more economical. However, the direct use of RGO for membrane modification is still rarely done. In this research, the surface modification of PP membrane with RGO will be carried out with the dip coating method. To overcome the difficulty of uniform deposition of RGO onto the PP membrane surface due to differences in hydrophilicity, polydopamine (PDA) which is amphiphilic and has high adhesive properties was added to adhere RGO to the PP surface. The RGO concentration was varied at 3 mg/L, 4 mg/L, 5 mg/L, and 10 mg/L with the PDA concentration kept at 3 g/L and the immersion time was 2 hours. The results showed that the PDA/RGO coating succeeded in increasing the hydrophilicity of the PP membrane as indicated by a decrease in the water contact angle from 122.79o to 41.49o and an increase in pure water flux by 35%. The hydrophilic modification also showed an increase in the antifouling characteristics of humic acids, indicated by a lower flux drop than the PP membrane. In addition, when immersed in a solution of acid, base, and alcohol for a period of 41 hours, the membrane was still hydrophilic with a slightly increased contact angle, except when immersed in a strong base.Polypropylene (PP) membrane is one of the membranes that is widely used for water treatment because it has excellent chemical resistance, high flexibility, easy to be fabricate, and the price is relatively affordable. However, the hydrophobic characteristics of PP membranes make it susceptible to fouling which causes a decrease in membrane performance.