Dye Removal Membrane from Electrospun Nanofibers of Blended Polybutylenesuccinate and Sulphonated Expanded Polystyrene Waste

Abstract Polystyrene (PS) is a thermoplastic polymer used in food packaging, manufacture of trays and cups, among other applications. Unfortunately, it is not commonly recycled. In this work, preparation of a membrane by electrospinning blended sulphonated expanded PS waste and polybutylenesuccinate (PBS), is described. The fiber quality is controlled by selecting the right polymers’ ratios and solvents. Investigation of the structure of the produced membranes has been carried out by different analysis techniques including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy– attenuated total reflectance (FTIR–ATR), thermogravimetric (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging. Moreover, the efficiency of the prepared membranes was tested in Methylene Blue (MB) removal. Effect of different parameters such as pH, contact time, temperature and dye concentration have been studied. Also, kinetic and adsorption isotherm models as well as the durability of the prepared membranes were investigated. The obtained data revealed that the PSS /1% PBS showed the highest uptake (846 mol) with good regeneration efficiency. The adsorption process is endothermic and fit Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Values of activation energy for the adsorption process are 36.98, 30.70 and 43.40 kJ/mol over PSS, PSS/1% PBS and PSS/2% PBS, respectively.