and chemical parameters on the water pollution [2]. Therefore, it is necessary to
understand the pathogen concentrations in the water and their treatment process to
enhance the purity of water for drinking purpose. It was identified by American
Academy of Microbiology that storing and aging are the main reasons to increase the
contamination of water in urban areas [3]. A simple in-house water purification is
greatly increased due to increasing environmental awareness. The drinking water is
one of the main vehicles of pathogen transmission by the fecal-oral route
[4]. Enhancing the water quality is the only way to reduce the fecal-oral disease
transmission. Many researchers have been developing water treatment process to
remove waterborne pathogens from drinking water. There are a variety of process to
produce nanofibrous membrane which involves the removal of contaminants from
drinking water, namely, synthetic templates, nanoparticles’ self-assembly, phase
separation and, electrospinning. In these, most of the nanofibrous materials are
produced by electrospinning method due to its unique properties. Electrospinning
is one of the proficient techniques to develop interconnected porous nanofibrous
structure for filtering the microorganisms present in contaminated water [5]. The
production of nanofibrous membrane by various biopolymers, namely, cellulose
acetate, polysulfone, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyacrylonitrile, polyurethane, and poly
(vinylidene fluoride), are commonly used for water purification [6]. The polymers
like polyacrylonitrile, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, and poly(vinylidene fluoride)
are hydrophobic polymers with excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. However, they are required to have some kind of modification in order to be
used in water purification [7]. For this reason, hydrophilic polymers like cellulose
acetate is used in all commercial water filtration membranes especially in reverse
osmosis process. However, the electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibrous membrane
alone has no antibacterial activity which has limited its application including water
purification. Consequently, it is necessary to incorporate antibacterial agents in the
electrospun nanofibrous membrane to destroy the bacteria in the drinking water
during filtration [8, 9]. The electrospun nanofibrous membrane suffers from fouling
during electrospinning process [10, 11]. For this reason, there are many surface
modification strategies available, namely, grafting, coating, blending, and interfacial
polymerization, respectively. For example, Gentamicin is used to eradicate the
microorganism, and it reduces fouling. The additives and antimicrobial agents are
used to modify the surface of the electrospun membranes to reduce the biofouling
during water filtration [11].
2 Influence of Microorganisms in Drinking Water
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that approximately 663 million
people around the world have the problem to access the pure drinking water due to
polluted water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are
more than 500 waterborne pathogens present in the contaminated water [1]. These
pathogens are the main sources for various chronic and acute level illnesses to the
Biopolymer-Based Nanofibrous Membrane for Water Purification Treatment
227
understand the pathogen concentrations in the water and their treatment process to
enhance the purity of water for drinking purpose. It was identified by American
Academy of Microbiology that storing and aging are the main reasons to increase the
contamination of water in urban areas [3]. A simple in-house water purification is
greatly increased due to increasing environmental awareness. The drinking water is
one of the main vehicles of pathogen transmission by the fecal-oral route
[4]. Enhancing the water quality is the only way to reduce the fecal-oral disease
transmission. Many researchers have been developing water treatment process to
remove waterborne pathogens from drinking water. There are a variety of process to
produce nanofibrous membrane which involves the removal of contaminants from
drinking water, namely, synthetic templates, nanoparticles’ self-assembly, phase
separation and, electrospinning. In these, most of the nanofibrous materials are
produced by electrospinning method due to its unique properties. Electrospinning
is one of the proficient techniques to develop interconnected porous nanofibrous
structure for filtering the microorganisms present in contaminated water [5]. The
production of nanofibrous membrane by various biopolymers, namely, cellulose
acetate, polysulfone, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyacrylonitrile, polyurethane, and poly
(vinylidene fluoride), are commonly used for water purification [6]. The polymers
like polyacrylonitrile, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, and poly(vinylidene fluoride)
are hydrophobic polymers with excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. However, they are required to have some kind of modification in order to be
used in water purification [7]. For this reason, hydrophilic polymers like cellulose
acetate is used in all commercial water filtration membranes especially in reverse
osmosis process. However, the electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibrous membrane
alone has no antibacterial activity which has limited its application including water
purification. Consequently, it is necessary to incorporate antibacterial agents in the
electrospun nanofibrous membrane to destroy the bacteria in the drinking water
during filtration [8, 9]. The electrospun nanofibrous membrane suffers from fouling
during electrospinning process [10, 11]. For this reason, there are many surface
modification strategies available, namely, grafting, coating, blending, and interfacial
polymerization, respectively. For example, Gentamicin is used to eradicate the
microorganism, and it reduces fouling. The additives and antimicrobial agents are
used to modify the surface of the electrospun membranes to reduce the biofouling
during water filtration [11].
2 Influence of Microorganisms in Drinking Water
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that approximately 663 million
people around the world have the problem to access the pure drinking water due to
polluted water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are
more than 500 waterborne pathogens present in the contaminated water [1]. These
pathogens are the main sources for various chronic and acute level illnesses to the
Biopolymer-Based Nanofibrous Membrane for Water Purification Treatment
227