Paracetamol Transport by ZnO Nanoparticle-Doped Polymer-Containing Membrane

In this study, the transport performance of acetaminophen (paracetamol), which is most commonly prescribed and used for humans and animals and whose wastes are known to have toxic effects on the environment and some living organisms, was investigated using zinc oxide (ZnO)-reinforced polymer membranes. In this study, nanoparticle-containing polymer membranes were prepared from cellulose triacetate in dichloromethane and ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized to impart adsorption properties to the membrane in a single step, enabling adsorption and filtration to improve the removal of low molecular weight micropollutants that are poorly retained by conventional polymer membranes and by enabling re-release. Our membrane was prepared by phase inversion method by doping with cellulose triacetate (CTA) solution. Parameters such as carrier concentration, mixing rate, transport time, acceptor and feed phase concentrations were studied to determine the optimal conditions for the transport experiments of paracetamol (PARA). The presence of acid in the acceptor phase converted the hydrophilic part of paracetamol, which allowed the transport of PARA. The calculated flux values for different PARA concentrations ranged from (0.64) × 10 −8 to (1.8) × 10 −8 mol/(cm 2 s). Under optimal conditions, a transport efficiency of 84% was obtained for PARA with a CTA/ZnO polymer membrane. The obtained membranes can be used in wastewater treatment, recovery of pharmacological products from pharmaceutical industry waste, re-evaluation of hospital waste, etc.