Preparation and characterization of polymer–carbon composite membranes for the removal of the dissolved salts from dye wastewater

Polymer–carbon composite membranes (PCC membranes here after) were prepared and used for the removal of the dissolved salts from dye wastewater. The dye wastewater used in this study was prepared by filtering with a membrane of MWCO 3500 the solution coming out of the synthetic process of Reactive Red 195. The PCC membrane system turned out to remove effectively the salts dissolved in the dye wastewater. The TDS removal efficiency increased with decreasing flow rate of the wastewater. As the flow rate was 0.5 LPM, it appeared to be about 98%. With increasing rinse time, the adsorption–desorption efficiency of the ions by the PCC membrane was improved, showing better efficiency for the TDS removal. As the TDS concentration of the wastewater decreased, its removal efficiency increased and reached about 99% at the TDS concentration of less than 2000 ppm.