Utilization of Pineapple Leaf – Derived Cellulose Membranes for Separation of Oil in Water Emulsions

In this study, cellulose membranes were successfully synthesized from pineapple leaves – an abundant agricultural by-product in Vietnam. The membranes were characterized for their structural, morphological, surface, and thermal properties using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The effect of treatment temperature on the alteration of cellulose membrane properties was also investigated. Results from FTIR, SEM and BET indicated that membranes treated at 70 °C exhibited increased hydrogen bonds between cellulose chains and form pores due to the overlapping of cellulose fibers. As a result, the membrane maintained and enhanced the hydrophilic and oleophobic properties of cellulose materials. The efficiency of cellulose membranes in separating oil-water emulsions was evaluated according to SMEWW 5520B:2017. The results showed that after five consecutive separation cycles, the efficiency of the membranes treated at temperatures from 40 °C to 70 °C was above 90%, and the efficiency increased gradually with temperature, from 94.3 % to 99.9% in the 70 °C sample. These results demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing pineapple leaves to prepare cellulose membranes for oil in water emulsion separation applications.