Electrospun nanofibrous PVDF–PMMA MF membrane in laboratory and pilot-scale study treating wastewater from Seoul Zoo

• PVDF-PMMA was successfully electrospun into nanofibrous microfiltration membranes.
• Pilot-scale testing of electrospun nanofibrous PVDF-PMMA membranes was carried out.
• Nanofibrous PVDF-PMMA membrane was effective for secondary effluent treatment.
• Robust backwash strategy was essential for nanofibrous PVDF-PMMA membranes.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) blended with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was electrospun into nanofibrous membranes, which had a mean pore size of 0.45 μm. The pure water permeability of the prepared membrane was higher compared to previous reports in which conventional cast membranes with equivalent mean pore size and contact angle were characterized for the purposes of domestic and industrial uses. Microscopic diagnoses were also conducted to characterize the physical and morphological natures of the nanofibrous membrane, which revealed that the prepared membrane was much smoother than conventional cast membranes. The increase in resistance to filtration was negligible up to 16 days without membrane cleaning for filtration of the secondary effluent; however this was not the case when the membranes were used for bioreactors. Suspended solids in the secondary effluent were completely removed, and a 48% removal of chemical oxygen demand was also achieved. Pilot-scale testing of the electrospun nanofibrous PVDF–PMMA membrane was also conducted on secondary effluent from the Seoul Zoo wastewater treatment plant (12 m3 d− 1). Our results revealed that the nanofibrous membrane has the potential to become a mainstream application in post-treatment of secondary effluent, which could lead us to explore the use of nanofibrous membranes for diverse applications.

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