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Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Polluted Water Using Carbon Nanotube-based Membranes Coated with Enzyme

Masjoudi, Mahsa | 2019

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 52082 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Borghei, Mehdi; Ghobadi Nejad, Zahra
  7. Abstract:
  8. Today, presence of micropollutants, including pharmaceutical compounds, in aquatic systems has turned into a major environmental challenge threatening the health of humans and many aquatic and terrestrial organisms. In the recent years, biodegradation of pharmaceuticals using enzymes, such as laccase, has been presented as a green method for eliminating these types of pollutants. Furthermore, regarding the improved stability and reusability of immobilized enzymes, these types of biocatalysts are suitable for industrial applications. Enzymatic membrane reactor is a promising method of enzymatic treatment and fabrication of a high-efficiency enzymatic membrane is a major step to begin this process. Thus, in this project, two types of poly-(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were fabricated for the first time, and after testing different methods of enzyme immobilization and optimizing the immobilization conditions, commercial laccase enzyme extracted from Trametes hirsuta was covalently immobilized on each of the produced membranes. Respectively, the activity of immobilized laccase on each of MWCNT-PVDF nanocomposite and PVDF coated with MWCNT membranes was 4.5 and 5.8 U/cm2 corresponding to activity recovery of 38% and 31%. In addition, operational stability, thermal stability and pH stability of the immobilized enzyme were studied. Finally, the biocatalytic membranes were used for removal of diclofenac from water. Under the experimental conditions (room temperature, pH = 5.38 and initial concentration of 5 ppm), MWCNT-PVDF nanocomposite membrane and PVDF membrane coated with MWCNT removed 95% diclofenac in 4 and 8 hours, respectively. After comparing the results obtained in different steps of the experiments and the performance of the produced membranes, MWCNT-PVDF nanocomposite membrane proved to be better for laccase immobilization and pharmaceutical degradation
  9. Keywords:
  10. Diclofenac Sodium ; Laccas Enzyme ; Trametes Hirsuta Mold ; Enzyme Stabilization ; Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) ; Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube ; Enzymatic Membrane Reactor

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