Optimization of Polyacrylic Acid Coating on Graphene Oxide-Functionalized Reverse-Osmosis Membrane Using UV Radiation through Response Surface Methodology

Reverse osmosis (RO) is affected by multiple types of fouling such as biofouling, scaling, and organic fouling. Therefore, a multi-functional membrane capable of reducing more than one type of fouling is a need of the hour. The polyacrylic acid and graphene oxide (PAA-GO) nanocomposite functionalization of the RO membrane has shown its effectiveness against both mineral scaling and biofouling. In this research, the polyacrylic acid concentration and irradiation times were optimized for the PAA-GO-coated RO membrane using the response surface methodology (RSM) approach. The effect of these parameters on pure water permeability and salt rejection was investigated. The models were developed through the design of the experiment (DoE), which were further validated through the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimum conditions were found to be: 11.41 mg·L(−1) (acrylic acid concentration) and 28.08 min (UV activation times) with the predicted results of 2.12 LMH·bar(−1) and 98.5% NaCl rejection. The optimized membrane was prepared as per the model conditions, which showed an increase in both pure water permeability and salt rejection as compared to the control. The improvement in membrane surface smoothness and hydrophilicity for the optimized membrane also helped to inhibit mineral scaling by 98%.