Development of Red Clay Ultrafiltration Membranes for Oil-Water Separation

Abstract

In this study, a red clay/nano-activated carbon membrane was investigated for the removal of oil from industrial wastewater. The sintering temperature was minimized using CaF2 powder as a binder. The fabricated membrane was characterized by its mechanical properties, average pore size, and hydrophilicity. A contact angle of 67.3° and membrane spore size of 95.46 nm were obtained. The prepared membrane was tested by a cross-flow filtration process using an oil-water emulsion, and showed a promising permeate flux and oil rejection results. During the separation of oil from water, the flux increased from 191.38 to 284.99 L/m2 on increasing the applied pressure from 3 to 6 bar. In addition, high water permeability was obtained for the fabricated membrane at low operating pressure. However, the membrane flux decreased from 490.28 to 367.32 L/m2·h due to oil deposition on the membrane surface; regardless, the maximum oil rejection was 99.96% at an oil concentration of 80 NTU and a pressure of 5 bar. The fabricated membrane was negatively charged, as were the oil droplets, thereby facilitating membrane purification through backwashing. The obtained ceramic membrane functioned well as a hydrophilic membrane and showed potential for use in oil wastewater treatment.

Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic polyurethane: Effect of different sponge densities, magnesium stearate loadings, harsh environmental conditions

“…Up to now, superhydrophobic porous absorbent materials attracted remarkable attentions because of their precise properties to fill this gap. A number of the superhydrophobic absorbents have been designed, such as polymer foams, 19,20 organic silicone sponges, 21,22 carbon‐based aerogels, 23,24 activated carbon, 25,26 wood, 27–29 and clay 30 . Their low selectivity, low absorption, and recyclability could be pointed to the related research areas 31 .…”