A Novel Nanocomposite Cellulose Acetate Membrane using Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles for Bioremediation of Leachate

Conventional remediation techniques have become outdated and insufficient to treat the influx of pollution from different fronts (air, water, and soil). Green synthesis of nanoparticles is an eco-friendly approach to remediate these contaminants and Membrane technology is increasingly becoming popular for the treatment of wastewater due to their efficiency and versatility against a wide array of contaminants. Cellulose acetate (CA) is a polymer obtained from cellulose and hence considered biodegradable, making it a more environmentally friendly option over other conventional polymers. In this present study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Staphylococcus aureus and characterized by UV-vis Spectrometer, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX). The synthesized green silver nanoparticles were assimilated onto synthesized CA membrane films to fabricate nanocomposite membranes (CA-X, CA-X1 and CA-X2). EDAX results showed higher counts of silver at 3keV on the CA-X, confirming that silver nanoparticles were properly embedded on the membrane. Physio-chemical tests performed on the collected sewage, showed that the total dissolved solids (TDS) were found to decrease significantly during the first hour of treatment, CA-X1 showed 16.2% decrease and 21.95% decrease was observed by CA-X2. A decrease in total nitrogen content by 38.88% and 41.36% for CA-X1 and CA-X2 respectively was recorded after a week’s treatment. Therefore, the work displayed the capability of cellulose acetate nanocomposite membrane for leachate treatment, since it displayed its potential in remediating leachate in a short span of time and scalability could be achieved for a larger volume of leachate with larger nanocomposite membranes.