Electrospun nanofiber adsorption amino-based ionic liquid for iron removal

In recent days, the concentration of heavy metals such as copper, Cu(II) and iron, Fe(III) in wastewater has been increasing in urban areas and larger production of the heavy metals in industries has caused serious impacts on humans and also on the environment. Cu(II) and Fe(III) are two common heavy metals that are very harmful which come from the manufacturer and agricultural sector. Basically, nanofiber membrane (NFM) fabricated using electrospinning method has the capability of high surface functionality for the separation of Iron from the wastewater. Moreover, to further enhance the separation of the heavy metal process, amino acid-based ionic liquids (AAILs) were selected to act as an extractant. The type of AAILs selected in this research is choline serinate. The characterization of the untreated and treated membranes done by using FTIR and FESEM. The porosity of nylon 6,6 NFM is calculated to be 90.28 whereas the porosity of nylon 6,6, NFM is calculated to be 53.03. Entrapment of ionic liquid by membrane caused an increase in membrane diameter and reduction in the pore size which made it harder for the wastewater to pass through the membrane. Leaching test carried out to identify the occurrence of AAILs leaching from the nylon 6,6 NFM/AAILs. © 2022 Author(s).