Rapid urbanization has resulted in the discharge of large amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) into the environment. Due to PAH-associated health hazards, their presence in water bodies has attracted increasing concern worldwide. Hence, it is necessary to device, new, efficient, and cost-effective technologies for their removal. The present work reports the fabrication of a novel chitosan linked activated carbon-nano-bentonite composite (AC-NB-C) membrane removal of acenaphthene (ACE) and naphthalene (NAP) from aqueous solutions containing both PAHs individually as well as a mixture (MP). The formulated membrane was characterized using SEM, TEM, EDS, FT-IR, XRD, and BET. The PAH removal efficiency of the membrane was evaluated in terms of varying process parameters such as initial PAH concentration, pH, and feed pressure. Process optimization was conducted using the central composite design (CCD) feature of response surface methodology (RSM). Reusability potential and antifouling property of the membrane was also evaluated. Under optimized conditions, the AC-NB-C membrane demonstrated a mixed PAH (MP) rejection of approximately 99.3%. The BET surface area and total pore volume of the membrane were observed to be 482.07 m²g^–1 and 0.251 cm³g^–1 respectively. The FT-IR analysis suggested π-π interaction and H-bonding as possible mechanisms guiding PAH uptake. A 4.9% reduction in flux ratio indicated good antifouling potential of the AC-NB-C membranes. Moreover, the membrane could be regenerated and reused for 7 consecutive cycles of filtration without any decline in its efficiency. Also, the optimum membrane performance recorded at pH 6 established its immense potential for large-scale treatment of municipal wastewater whose pH values are normally between 6 and 8.

快速的城市化导致大量多环芳烃 (PAH) 排放到环境中。由于 PAH 相关的健康危害，它们在水体中的存在引起了全世界越来越多的关注。因此，有必要采用新的、高效的和具有成本效益的技术来去除它们。目前的工作报告了一种新型壳聚糖连接的活性炭-纳米-膨润土复合材料 (AC-NB-C) 膜的制备，该膜从含有单独和混合物的 PAHs 的水溶液中去除苊 (ACE) 和萘 (NAP)。议员）。使用 SEM、TEM、EDS、FT-IR、XRD 和 BET 对配制的膜进行表征。根据不同的工艺参数（例如初始 PAH 浓度、pH 和进料压力）评估膜的 PAH 去除效率。使用响应面方法 (RSM) 的中心复合设计 (CCD) 特征进行过程优化。还评估了膜的可重复使用潜力和防污性能。在优化条件下，AC-NB-C 膜的混合 PAH (MP) 截留率约为 99.3%。观察到膜的 BET 表面积和总孔体积为 482.07 m^分别为2 g ^–1和 0.251 cm ³ g ^–1。FT-IR 分析表明 π-π 相互作用和 H 键是指导 PAH 吸收的可能机制。通量比降低 4.9% 表明 AC-NB-C 膜具有良好的防污潜力。此外，该膜可以再生并重复使用 7 个连续的过滤循环，而其效率不会下降。此外，在 pH 值 6 记录的最佳膜性能确定了其在大规模处理 pH 值通常在 6 和 8 之间的城市废水方面的巨大潜力。