Cellulose Acetate/ <scp>UiO</scp> ‐66 Membranes for Oily Wastewater Treatment

ABSTRACT Membrane technology has proved itself a valuable asset in oily wastewater (OWW) treatment due to its high efficiency, and low energy cost; however, membrane fouling has significantly restricted its long‐term usage. Despite the numerous research conducted around fabricating fouling‐resistant membranes, many current approaches face stability problems and lower lifespans. In this study, a fouling‐resistant Cellulose Acetate (CA)/UiO‐66 nanocomposite membrane was fabricated via the non‐solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method to address these limitations. UiO‐66 metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized using a solvothermal approach and were incorporated into the CA matrix to regulate membrane structure and surface properties. UiO‐66 increased hydrophilicity, decreased surface roughness, and encouraged pore formation. When compared to pristine CA, the optimal membrane with 0.75 wt% UiO‐66 showed a 55% increase in pure water flux (131.63 LMH) while retaining a high oil rejection of 97.42%. Additionally, there was an improvement of 115% in mechanical strength and 36.13% in abrasion resistance. A higher flux recovery ratio of up to 84.09% revealed better antifouling capabilities. The above points clearly indicate that the addition of UiO‐66 is a successful approach in developing long‐lasting effective antifouling membranes for the treatment of oily wastewater.