# Tubular Membrane Coupled with Marine Waste-Derived Hybrid Adsorbent for Textile Micropollutant Removal and Photochemical Regeneration

## TL;DR

A new hybrid system using marine waste and eco-friendly membranes effectively removes pollutants from textile wastewater and can be regenerated for reuse.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a photochemical regeneration method for adsorbents in a hybrid membrane system, enabling sustainable wastewater treatment.

## Key findings

- The hybrid system achieved 85.6% COD, 86.5% BOD5, and 96.5% color removal from textile effluent.
- The membrane system showed high mechanical strength (24.06 MPa flexural strength) and permeability (525 L h−1 m−2 bar−1).
- Photochemical regeneration successfully recovered adsorbent capacity and maintained membrane performance.

## Abstract

The development of sustainable ceramic membranes remains a major challenge for advanced wastewater treatment, particularly regarding the trade-off between mechanical durability and the removal of dissolved micropollutants. While bentonite membranes offer high stability, they often lack the selective adsorption sites required for complex effluents, and the recovery of high-capacity powder adsorbents remains technically prohibitive. This paper addresses these gaps by developing an integrated hybrid system that combines eco-friendly bentonite-based tubular membranes with regenerable clam shell-derived adsorbents. The membranes were synthesized using natural plasticizers and binders with optimization at a sintering temperature of 1000 °C yielding an average pore size of 1.7 µm, a high flexural strength of 24.06 MPa, and a permeability of 525 L h−1 m−2 bar−1. To enhance the performance, clam shell powder was integrated as a functional adsorbent layer. When applied to real textile effluent from a jeans washing plant, this integrated process achieved superior removal efficiencies: 85.6% COD, 86.5% BOD5, 86.5% TSS, and 96.5% color. A key scientific contribution of this paper is the successful application of a photochemical regeneration approach, which ensures complete adsorbent recovery and maintains membrane flux, directly supporting circular economy objectives. These results demonstrate that combining low-cost ceramic scaffolds with marine waste-derived materials provides a unique, efficient, and green solution for the scalable treatment of industrial wastewater.