ARTICLE IN PRESS JID: JTICE [m5G;August 22, 2018;3:26] Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 000 (2018) 1–12 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jtice Fabrication of polyetherimide nanocomposite membrane with amine functionalised halloysite nanotubes for effective removal of cationic dye effluents Raghavendra S. Hebbar a , Arun M. Isloor a,∗ , Inamuddin b,c,∗∗ , Mohd. Sohaimi Abdullah d , A.F. Ismail d , Abdullah M. Asiri b,c a Membrane Technology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore 575 025, India b Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia c Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia d Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 31 May 2018 Revised 19 July 2018 Accepted 24 July 2018 Available online xxx Keywords: Nanocomposite membrane Permeation Cationic dyes Adsorption isotherm a b s t r a c t Naturally, occurring, low cost and eco-friendly halloysite nanotubes were chemically modified and uni- formly immobilised into the polyetherimide membrane matrix with the aim of enhancing the properties and possible cationic dye rejection efficacy. The properties of fabricated nanocomposite membranes were examined by means of porosity, hydrophilicity, zeta potential and permeability. Permeation experiments revealed the enhanced water flux up to 195 L/m 2 h with 4 wt% additive dosage. The dye rejection effi- cacy of the prepared membranes was determined by using rhodamine B (Rh.B) and methylene blue (MB). The dye rejection studies were executed in terms of pH, contact time and initial dye concentration. The membrane with 4 wt% of nanomaterial dosage, showed rejection of 97% at pH 8 and 94% at pH 7 for MB and Rh.B dyes, respectively. Langmuir adsorption isotherm is the best model to explain interaction between dye molecules and membrane surface, with quantity of dye adsorbed (q max ) was observed to be 20.4 mg/g and 19.6 mg/g for MB and Rh.B, respectively. This approach showed modified membrane has good cationic dye rejection efficacy and can be efficiently employed to remove the dyes from aqueous streams. © 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The emergent growth rate of industries and the discharge of coloured effluents from various sources into the water bodies is causing serious problems to human and several living organisms due to their harmful toxic effects [1,2]. According to colour index, currently, more than 10,000 dyes are being synthesised by the in- dustries and approximate yearly manufacture of dye is above than 700,000 tonnes [3]. Dye molecules find its considerable applica- tion in various fields such as plastic, paper, concrete, rubber, tex- tile, and medicine based industries. The discharge of more than 15% of dye solution into the water source is of considerable at- tention due to its high bio-toxicity, potentially mutagenic and car- cinogenic effects. The dispersed dye molecules into water sources ∗ Corresponding author. ∗∗ Corresponding author at: Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdu- laziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. E-mail addresses: isloor@yahoo.com (A.M. Isloor), inamuddin@zhcet.ac.in (Ina- muddin). lead to blockage of sunshine from getting the bulk of water source, thereby reduces the dissolved oxygen demand (DOD) level and also increases the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the polluted water body [4]. For example, basic dye pigments have very high colour intensity even at trace quantities that provide colour to wa- ter, which is detrimental for sanitation and consumption purpose. Though the influence of cationic dyes such as Rh.B and MB are not as dangerous as reactive or azo dyes, severe exposure to the same can lead to serious health problems. Rh.B is frequently used as a staining agent in biotechnology-based laboratories and industries [5]. The long-term exposure to these dyes may cause irritation in the respiratory tract, eyes and skin in addition to carcinogenicity and neurotoxicity [6,7]. One more dye, MB can instigate enhanced heartbeat rate on breath and also absorption through the mouth that can cause nausea, vomiting, jaundice, quadriplegia and tis- sue necrosis [8]. In order to constrain the harmful effects of dyes, various techniques have established for the management of indus- trial effluents and other contaminated water bodies. In particular, membrane-based technology can play an important role in water purification on account of its efficient and easy process, selective https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtice.2018.07.032 1876-1070/© 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Please cite this article as: R.S. Hebbar et al., Fabrication of polyetherimide nanocomposite membrane with amine functionalised halloysite nanotubes for effective removal of cationic dye effluents, Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtice.2018.07.032