Chin Jing Yi, Ahmad Abdul Latif, Low Siew Chun
School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal, 14300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Aug;390:126247. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126247. Epub 2025 Jun 23.
The persistence of antibiotics oxytetracycline (OTC) in aquaculture wastewater poses critical environmental and public health risks, including the proliferation of antibiotic resistance. To address these challenges, this research introduces a novel, eco-friendly photocatalytic membrane system by integrating composites of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN), a non-metal photocatalyst, with TiO synthesized via a green method (using neem leaves), onto a PES membrane. This innovative approach overcomes limitations in traditional liquid-phase photocatalysis, like catalyst recovery and inefficiencies in real-world applications. To enhance photocatalytic activity, GCN/neem-TiO composites with varying ratios were synthesized to tune optical and electronic properties of the photocatalysts. The 1:4 GCN/neem-TiO composite appeared as the optimal photocatalyst composite ratio, with a low work function (3.35 eV) and enhanced visible-light absorption. When incorporated onto the PES membrane, this composite facilitated effective OTC degradation, achieving 90.49 % degradation in OTC aqueous solution, and 72.35 % removal in real aquaculture water under fluorescence light irradiation. The 1:4 GCN/neem-TiO/PES membrane also able to maintain its performance across four recycling cycles. The photocatalytic membrane also demonstrated robust fouling resistance, with a total fouling ratio (R) of 17.85 % and a flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 98.00 %, significantly surpassing pure GCN-coated membranes. These results establish the GCN/neem-TiO-coated PES membrane as a sustainable and efficient solution for antibiotic remediation in complex aquatic environments. By leveraging environmentally friendly materials and addressing the operational limitations of conventional systems, this work provides a significant advancement in photocatalytic water treatment technologies, and offering scalable potential for addressing antibiotic pollution issue in diverse wastewater scenarios.
水产养殖废水中土霉素（OTC）抗生素的持久性带来了严峻的环境和公共卫生风险，包括抗生素耐药性的扩散。为应对这些挑战，本研究引入了一种新型的、环保的光催化膜系统，该系统通过将非金属光催化剂石墨相氮化碳（GCN）与通过绿色方法（使用印楝叶）合成的TiO的复合材料整合到聚醚砜（PES）膜上。这种创新方法克服了传统液相光催化的局限性，如催化剂回收以及实际应用中的低效问题。为提高光催化活性，合成了不同比例的GCN/印楝-TiO复合材料，以调节光催化剂的光学和电子性能。1:4的GCN/印楝-TiO复合材料似乎是最佳的光催化剂复合比例，具有低功函数（3.35 eV）和增强的可见光吸收能力。当将这种复合材料整合到PES膜上时，它促进了OTC的有效降解，在荧光灯照射下，在OTC水溶液中实现了90.49%的降解，在实际水产养殖水中实现了72.35%的去除率。1:4的GCN/印楝-TiO/PES膜在四个循环周期内也能够保持其性能。该光催化膜还表现出强大的抗污染能力，总污染率（R）为17.85%，通量恢复率（FRR）为98.00%，显著超过纯GCN涂层膜。这些结果表明，GCN/印楝-TiO涂层的PES膜是复杂水环境中抗生素修复的可持续且高效的解决方案。通过利用环保材料并解决传统系统的运行限制，这项工作在光催化水处理技术方面取得了重大进展，并为解决不同废水场景中的抗生素污染问题提供了可扩展的潜力。
