Tanushree Choudhury*, Hemendrasinh Raol and Saranya Madheswaran
The present work is focused on functionalizing Montmorillonite (Mt) with Poly Dimethyl Siloxane (PDMS) to develop a hybrid membrane reactor for the removal of Co (II) and Ni (II) ions from model wastewater samples. The specific surface area of the novel material was found to be 444 m2 /g. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectra reveal the formation of exfoliated composite material. The efficiency of this membrane material was determined by subjecting it to continuous filtration experiments. It was able to remove 50% of Co (II) and 75% of Ni (II) ions, respectively, in one cycle of filtration in less than three minutes of operation with a permeate flux rate of 675 L/m2 /H and 975 L/m2 /H respectively, for both the ions.
