Preparation of novel Polyvinylidene fluoride/boehmite composite membrane made using nonsolvent induced phase separation method for arsenate ion removal from water

Abstract Polyvinylidene fluoride/boehmite composite membranes with hydrophilic surfaces were prepared using the nonsolvent induced phase inversion technique (NIPS) method to remove arsenate ions from water. The nanoparticles were added with different boehmite filler content. The contact angle of the bare membrane is 85 0 , and it is reduced to 53 0 , imparting hydrophilicity due to the presence of boehmite nanoparticles. The mechanical characteristics of the membranes have significantly improved. The BET and SEM results have shown that the average pore diameter gets reduced with boehmite addition, and surface area increases. Additionally, the use of nanoparticles enhanced the membranes' thermal stability. The nanofiltration unit is used to filter the arsenic‐contaminated water. The transmembrane pressure of ~4 bar is applied to all the membranes, and arsenic rejection; the flux of the membranes was calculated. The membrane has shown the highest rejection of 55% with a flux of 3.5659 L/m 2 .h.