Separation of oil-water emulsion and adsorption of Cu(II) on a chitosan-cellulose acetate-TiO 2 based membrane.

A modified cellulose acetate, modified chitosan, titanium dioxide membrane (MCA-MCS-TiO2) was prepared for oil-water emulsion separation and Cu(II) adsorption. This membrane shows excellent hydrophilicity and underwater oleophobicity. After being modified, the water contact angles of the membranes attain 13.7°, and the underwater oil contact angles reach 157.24°. The membrane exhibits high oil-water separation efficiency (99.4%) for cyclohexane, at the same time, the adsorption amount of Cu(II) on the membrane was measured. The variables include the ratio of modified cellulose to modified chitosan, the initial concentration of Cu(II), and the pH of Cu(II) solution. When pH = 7, the adsorption capacity of the membrane to Cu(II) reaches 220.67  mg g−1. When the concentration of Cu(II) solution is 1000 mg L−1, the adsorption efficiency is as high as 97.0%.