Copper Acetate Monohydrate/Nickel Chloride Impregnated PVDF Ultrafiltration Membrane: An Antifouling Membrane for Peat Water Treatment

Abstract This study examines the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane impregnated with the copper acetate monohydrate/nickel chloride/thiourea (CuNit) nanoparticle through its physical properties, chemical properties, water flux, humic rejection, and antifouling properties against peat water. The ultrafiltration membrane was fabricated via phase inversion by blending CuNit nanoparticles (1, 3, and 5 wt/wt PVDF %) and PVDF (16 wt %) in N‐Methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP, 42 wt %) as the solvent. The humic rejection and fouling test are conducted using peat water collected from the Beladin water treatment plant. As a result, M03, which has 1 wt/wt PVDF % of CuNit nanoparticle, gives a better result of pure water flux, humic rejection, and fouling recovery rate with a value of 82 L/m 2 h, 93 %, and 40 % compared to pristine PVDF membrane. The fouling of M03 recorded a low total rate of fouling (76 %) that is caused by high reversible fouling and low irreversible fouling with a value of 0.16 and 0.59, respectively, compared to the pristine PVDF membrane. In conclusion, due to the agglomeration that occurs in the further addition of CuNit nanoparticles, coating or encapsulation must be done to improve the stability of nanoparticles and reduce the leach‐out problem as well as provide a good distribution between the nanoparticle and casting solution during the membrane fabrication.