International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 13 Issue: 06 | Jun 2026
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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Advanced Membrane Filtration for Sustainable Wastewater Reuse: Development, Surface Modification, and Performance Evaluation of Nanocomposite Ultrafiltration Systems Mr. Rahul Kumar1, Dr. R. K. Kaushal2 -----------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------Abstract-The growing demand for water and release of complex industrial and household waste streams create a need for
advanced treatment processes that can produce high-quality recycled water for reuse. This research addresses the design and development, surface modification, and comprehensive performance analysis of novel membrane filtration systems such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, with specific focus on nanocomposite and polydopamine (PDA)-coated UF membranes to underpin sustainable water reuse. Flat sheet UF membranes were produced by phase-inversion from 18 wt.% polysulfone (PSf) solution in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Modified membranes were prepared by coating with PDA (2 g/L dopamine hydrochloride at pH 8.5 for 4 h) and adding 0.5 wt.% zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. The membrane performance was measured in a cross-flow system (42 cm²) including permeate flux, rejection of contaminants, fouling, and stability for 90 days. 45 municipal and textile industrial wastewater samples were used. Rejection (turbidity 99.2%, total suspended solids 99.4%, chemical oxygen demand 96.5%, and heavy metals 94.0%) by the nanocomposite membrane was 27.6-52.5% greater than traditional filtration. Flux drops due to fouling decreased from 47% (unmodified) to 9% (nanocomposite). Flux retention (normalised to day 1) was 87.5% (nanocomposite) and 49.6% (unmodified) after 90 days. The parallel MF+NF design had a specific energy consumption of 1.5 kWh m⁻³, 71.2% lower than conventional filtration. The nanocomposite-based UF system showed the lowest operating costs (USD 0.44/m³) and longest lifetime (22 years). The research shows that tailored membrane innovations at the material level and process optimisations at the factory level will provide scalable membrane technology with energy-efficient operation as part of the circular water economy of industrial water reuse and decentralised urban water reuse. Keywords: Innovative Membrane Systems; Sustainable Water Reuse; Antifouling Nanocomposites; Polydopamine Coating; Highly Efficient Contaminant Removal; Circular Water Economy
1. INTRODUCTION The global freshwater crisis is intensifying under the combined pressures of rapid population growth, accelerating industrialisation, and climate-driven hydrological variability. By 2025, it is estimated that over 50% of the world's population will live in areas with water scarcity, demonstrating a critical need for robust and efficient water treatment and recycling technologies [1]. Wastewaters from industrial and urban sources are a complex array of toxic organic pollutants, metals, pathogens, suspended solids, nutrients, and new micro-contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics. Poor treatment and discharge of these effluents impact the health of the aquatic ecosystems, water quality and human health [2], [3]. Membrane technologies have become a technically effective and versatile alternative for wastewater treatment and water reuse. Pressure-driven membrane separation processes, including microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO), span a broad range of contaminant removals from suspended and particulate matter (MF), bacteria and macromolecules (UF), to ions and trace organics (NF and RO). And while membrane processes have been proven effective, their real-world applications are still limited by two major operating constraints: membrane fouling and high energy demands [4], [5]. Fouling, due to adsorption and deposition of organic macromolecules, colloidal particles and microorganisms on membrane surface, leads to flux decrement, higher transmembrane pressure (TMP) demand and reduced membrane lifetime [6]. Membrane surface modification techniques have received significant research focus as an approach to reduce membrane fouling by enhancing membrane surface hydrophilicity and/or conferring anti-adhesive and/or antimicrobial properties. Polydopamine (PDA) coating results in a conformal layer with increased hydrophilicity, which diminishes the
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