scholarly journals Surface Engineering of Ceramic Nanomaterials for Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usama Zulfiqar ◽  
Andrew G. Thomas ◽  
Allan Matthews ◽  
David J. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Surface Engineering ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Chemical Interaction ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Manufacturing Operations ◽  
Industrial Oil ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water

Oil/water mixtures are a potentially major source of environmental pollution if efficient separation technology is not employed during processing. A large volume of oil/water mixtures is produced via many manufacturing operations in food, petrochemical, mining, and metal industries and can be exposed to water sources on a regular basis. To date, several techniques are used in practice to deal with industrial oil/water mixtures and oil spills such as in situ burning of oil, bioremediation, and solidifiers, which change the physical shape of oil as a result of chemical interaction. Physical separation of oil/water mixtures is in industrial practice; however, the existing technologies to do so often require either dissipation of large amounts of energy (such as in cyclones and hydrocyclones) or large residence times or inventories of fluids (such as in decanters). Recently, materials with selective wettability have gained attention for application in separation of oil/water mixtures and surfactant stabilized emulsions. For example, a superhydrophobic material is selectively wettable toward oil while having a poor affinity for the aqueous phase; therefore, a superhydrophobic porous material can easily adsorb the oil while completely rejecting the water from an oil/water mixture, thus physically separating the two components. The ease of separation, low cost, and low-energy requirements are some of the other advantages offered by these materials over existing practices of oil/water separation. The present review aims to focus on the surface engineering aspects to achieve selectively wettability in materials and its their relationship with the separation of oil/water mixtures with particular focus on emulsions, on factors contributing to their stability, and on how wettability can be helpful in their separation. Finally, the challenges in application of superwettable materials will be highlighted, and potential solutions to improve the application of these materials will be put forward.

Fabrication of hydrophobic NiFe2O4@poly(DVB-LMA) sponge via Pickering emulsion template method for oil/water separation

Soft Matter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caimei Zhao ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Chuanming Yu ◽  
Binghua Hu ◽  
Haoxuan Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pickering Emulsion ◽  
Template Method ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Environment Friendly ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Cost Efficient

Super-hydrophobic porous absorbent is a convenient, low-cost, efficient and environment-friendly material in the treatment of oil spills. In this work, a simple Pickering emulsion template method was employed to fabricate...

scholarly journals Fabrication of PDMS@Fe3O4/MS Composite Materials and Its Application for Oil-Water Separation

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Wang ◽  
Zhenzhong Fan ◽  
Qingwang Liu ◽  
Qilei Tong ◽  
Biao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Force ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Oily Wastewater ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Simple Preparation ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Absorbing Material ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Nano Fe3o4

The discharge of oily wastewater and oil spills at sea are the current difficulties in water pollution control. This problem often leads to terrible disasters. Therefore, the effective realization of oil-water separation is a very challenging problem. Superhydrophobic sponge is a promising oil-absorbing material. In this article, we reported a superhydrophobic sponge with nano-Fe3O4 for oil-water separation. The addition of nano-Fe3O4 allows the sponge to be recycled under the action of magnetic force. The sponge has the advantages of low cost, simple preparation and efficient oil-water separation. This kind of sponge is very worthy of promotion for the treatment of oily wastewater and marine oil spill accidents.

scholarly journals Recent Progress of Polyurethane-Based Materials for Oil/Water Separation

NANO ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 1730001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gailan Guo ◽  
Libin Liu ◽  
Zhao Dang ◽  
Wenyuan Fang
Keyword(s):  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Attractive Candidate ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Further Development

With the development of society, oil pollution has become more and more serious, it is becoming a global issue to separate oil and water mixture. Currently, a variety of functional materials have been successfully prepared for oil/water separation. Among them, polyurethane is an attractive candidate due to its low cost, wear-resistance and excellent mechanical properties. This report summarizes the design strategy of polyurethane-based materials and their applications in oil/water separation. The progress made so far will guide further development of polyurethane-based materials for oil/water separation.

scholarly journals Simultaneous, efficient and continuous oil–water separation via antagonistically functionalized membranes prepared by atmospheric-pressure cold plasma

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-hyun Kim ◽  
Rodolphe Mauchauffé ◽  
Jongwoon Kim ◽  
Se Youn Moon
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Separation Flow ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Cold Plasmas ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

AbstractFor decades, oil and water separation has remained a challenge. Not only oil spills but also industrial oily wastewaters are threatening our environment. Over the years, oil–water separation methods have been developed, however, there are still considerable hurdles to overcome to provide a low cost and efficient process able to treat a large amount of liquid. In this work, we suggest a continuous, simultaneous and effective oil–water separation method based on the antagonistic functionalization of meshes using atmospheric pressure cold plasmas. Using this robust plasma method, superhydrophobic/underwater-superoleophilic or superhydrophilic/underwater-superoleophobic functionalized meshes are obtained. Antagonistically functionalized meshes can simultaneously separate oil and water and show continuous separation flow rates of water (900 L m−2 h−1) and oil (400 L m−2 h−1) with high purities (> 99.9% v/v). This fast, low-cost and continuous plasma-based process can be readily and widely adopted for the selective functionalization of membranes at large scale for oil-spill cleanup and water purification.

Surface engineering with microstructured gel networks for superwetting membranes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuandong Jia ◽  
Kecheng Guan ◽  
Pengfei Zhang ◽  
Qin Shen ◽  
Shengyao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Engineering ◽  
Water Harvesting ◽  
Structure And Properties ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Distinct Structure ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Self Cleaning

Superwetting surfaces have several applications, such as self-cleaning, anti-fouling, anti-corrosion, water harvesting, and oil–water separation, owing to their distinct structure and properties. Hydrogel-based coatings are particularly attractive owing to their...

scholarly journals Fabrication of silica/PVA-co-PE nanofiber membrane for oil/water separation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanli Chen ◽  
Hui Fan ◽  
Xinlin Zha ◽  
Wenwen Wang ◽  
Yi Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Silicone Oil ◽  
Hydroxyl Groups ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Silica Nanospheres ◽  
Nanofiber Membrane ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Silica Nanostructures ◽  
Oil Water

AbstractHigh efficiency and anti-pollution oil/water separation membrane has been widely explored and researched. There are a large number of hydroxyl groups on the surface of silica, which has good wettability and can be used for oil-water separation membranes. Hydrophilic silica nanostructures with different morphologies were synthesized by changing templates and contents of trimethylbenzene (TMB). Here, silica nanospheres with radical pores, hollow silica nanospheres and worm-like silica nanotubes were separately sprayed on the PVA-co-PE nanofiber membrane (PM). The abundance of hydroxyl groups and porous structures on PM surfaces enabled the absorption of silica nanospheres through hydrogen bonds. Compared with different silica nanostructures, it was found that the silica/PM exhibited excellent super-hydrophilicity in air and underwater “oil-hating” properties. The PM was mass-produced in our lab through melt-extrusion-phase-separation technique. Therefore, the obtained membranes not only have excellent underwater superoleophobicity but also have a low-cost production. The prepared silica/PM composites were used to separate n-hexane/water, silicone oil/water and peanut oil water mixtures via filtration. As a result, they all exhibited efficient separation of oil/water mixture through gravity-driven filtration.

scholarly journals Carbon Nanotubes and Polydopamine Modified Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Sponges for Efficient Oil–Water Separation

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2431
Author(s):  
Wen Zhang ◽  
Juanjuan Wang ◽  
Xue Han ◽  
Lele Li ◽  
Enping Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Absorption Capacity ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Hard Template ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Industrial Oil ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water

In this paper, effective separation of oil from both immiscible oil–water mixtures and oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions are achieved by using poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based (PDMS-based) composite sponges. A modified hard template method using citric acid monohydrate as the hard template and dissolving it in ethanol is proposed to prepare PDMS sponge composited with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) both in the matrix and the surface. The introduction of CNTs endows the composite sponge with enhanced comprehensive properties including hydrophobicity, absorption capacity, and mechanical strength than the pure PDMS. We demonstrate the successful application of CNT-PDMS composite in efficient removal of oil from immiscible oil–water mixtures within not only a bath absorption, but also continuous separation for both static and turbulent flow conditions. This notable characteristic of the CNT-PDMS sponge enables it as a potential candidate for large-scale industrial oil–water separation. Furthermore, a polydopamine (PDA) modified CNT-PDMS is developed here, which firstly realizes the separation of O/W emulsion without continuous squeezing of the sponge. The combined superhydrophilic and superoleophilic property of PDA/CNT-PDMS is assumed to be critical in the spontaneously demulsification process.

scholarly journals Gravity-Driven Separation of Oil/Water Mixture by Porous Ceramic Membranes with Desired Surface Wettability

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
Chunlei Ren ◽  
Wufeng Chen ◽  
Chusheng Chen ◽  
Louis Winnubst ◽  
Lifeng Yan
Keyword(s):  
Porous Ceramic ◽  
Ceramic Membranes ◽  
Separation Performance ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Alumina Membrane ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Alumina Membranes ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Gravity Driven ◽  
Oil Water

Porous Al2O3 membranes were prepared through a phase-inversion tape casting/sintering method. The alumina membranes were embedded with finger-like pores perpendicular to the membrane surface. Bare alumina membranes are naturally hydrophilic and underwater oleophobic, while fluoroalkylsilane (FAS)-grafted membranes are hydrophobic and oleophilic. The coupling of FAS molecules on alumina surfaces was confirmed by Thermogravimetric Analysis and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy measurements. The hydrophobic membranes exhibited desired thermal stability and were super durable when exposed to air. Both membranes can be used for gravity-driven oil/water separation, which is highly cost-effective. The as-calculated separation efficiency (R) was above 99% for the FAS-grafted alumina membrane. Due to the excellent oil/water separation performance and good chemical stability, the porous ceramic membranes display potential for practical applications.

A Micro/Nano Engineering Laboratory Module on Superoleophobic Membranes for Oil-Water Separation

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (31-32) ◽  
pp. 1699-1706
Author(s):  
Hussain Al-Qahtani ◽  
Michael S. H. Boutilier ◽  
Rahul Ramakrishnan ◽  
Rohit Karnik
Keyword(s):  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Spray Coating ◽  
Titania Nanoparticles ◽  
Water Mixture ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Institute Of Technology

ABSTRACTThis article presents a laboratory module developed for undergraduate micro/nano engineering laboratory courses in the mechanical engineering departments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. In this laboratory, students fabricate superoleophobic membranes by spray-coating of titania nanoparticles on steel meshes, characterize the surfaces and ability of the membrane to retain oil, and then use these membranes to separate an oil-water mixture. The laboratory module covers nanomaterials, nanomanufacturing, materials characterization, and understanding of the concepts of surface tension and hydrostatics, with oil-water separation as an application. The laboratory experiments are easy to set up based on commercially available tools and materials, which will facilitate implementation of this module in other educational institutions. The significance of oil-water separation in the petroleum industry and integration of concepts from fluid mechanics in the laboratory module will help to illustrate the relevance of nanotechnology to mechanical and materials engineering and its potential to address some of the future societal needs.

scholarly journals A Facile Route to Fabricate Superhydrophobic Cu2O Surface for Efficient Oil–Water Separation

Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Lei ◽  
Xinzuo Fang ◽  
Fajun Wang ◽  
Mingshan Xue ◽  
Junfei Ou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Short Reaction Time ◽  
Oil Water Separation ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
High Separation ◽  
Application Prospects ◽  
Copper Mesh ◽  
Facile Route

The mixture of insoluble organics and water seriously affects human health and environmental safety. Therefore, it is important to develop an efficient material to remove oil from water. In this work, we report a superhydrophobic Cu2O mesh that can effectively separate oil and water. The superhydrophobic Cu2O surface was fabricated by a facile chemical reaction between copper mesh and hydrogen peroxide solution without any low surface reagents treatment. With the advantages of simple operation, short reaction time, and low cost, the as-synthesized superhydrophobic Cu2O mesh has excellent oil–water selectivity for many insoluble organic solvents. In addition, it could be reused for oil–water separation with a high separation ability of above 95%, which demonstrated excellent durability and reusability. We expect that this fabrication technique will have great application prospects in the application of oil–water separation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document