STUDY ON WETTABILITY OF RADIATION-INDUCED GRAFTED INDUSTRIAL POLYETHYLENE (PE) FILTER CARTRIDGE FOR WATER CONTAMINANT ADSORPTION

Abstract

Synthetic polymeric materials are making their way into water treatment and being utilized due to easy tailoring in promising end applications. Industrial Polyethylene (PE) filter cartridge is a type of water filter cartridge with 100% polyethylene material with superior chemical compatibility and particle retention efficiency for use in a wide range of applications such as industrial water treatment, drinking water treatment, sterilization, gas processing solvent, vent filter, and gas filtration. Radiation-induced grafting technique is one of the most popular methods for polymeric materials surface modification. In this study, an industrial polyethylene filter cartridge was modified via a simultaneous radiation-induced grafting process by employing gamma irradiation at 25 kGy. The Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto the material which was followed by subsequent chemical functionalization with an amine functional group. This modification improves the hydrophilic properties of the material as an adsorbent. The amine functionalization was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy analysis. The unmodified and modified filter cartridges have been subjected to contact angle measurements using the advanced mode contact angle method through an optical contact angle (OCA). This analysis identified changes in material hydrophilicity. According to the results, the modified filter cartridge is more hydrophilic than the unmodified cartridge. A filter cartridge with enhanced hydrophilicity is suitable for the removal of various types of contaminants, including metal ions, dye particles, pathogens, fertilizers and pharmaceutical residues from water.