Preparation of Activated Carbon-PVDF Blend Membrane and Its Effect on the Decolorization of Azo Dyes

Abstract In this article, various ratios of activated carbon and amounts of the cross-linking agent were used to prepare mediator functionalized PVDF membrane with N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as the solvent and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the polymer. The membrane structure was characterized by an electron microscope. Moreover, the influence of the prepared membrane on the decolorization rate of the dye was investigated to optimize the addition amounts of activated carbon and the cross-linking agent. As the addition amount of cross-linking agent in the blend membrane increased, the decolorization effect continuously improved. However, the decolorization rate tended to be stable when the cross-linking agent reached a specific value. The addition of activated carbon significantly accelerated the rate of degradation and decolorization of the microbial system.