Efficient separation of oil‐in‐water emulsion based on a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic polyvinylidene fluoride membrane

Abstract

Membrane materials have been extensively applied in the field of separation of oilwater mixtures. However, most membrane materials are limited to separate oil-water mixtures and difficult to separate stable oil-water emulsions. Therefore, the polymer membrane, which is a type of underwater superoleophobic membrane material, has attracted extensive attention for its excellent antipollution performance and emulsion separation ability. In this work, we combined the synthesized poly (acrylic acid)co-poly(3-[trimethoxysilyl]propyl methacrylate) (PAA-co-PTMSPMA) with micronanoparticles to modify polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. By means of this strategy, PVDF membranes with excellent superhydrophilicity-underwater superoleophobicity were successfully fabricated. The obtained PVDF membrane could efficiently realize the separation of various oil-in-water emulsions, and the separation efficiency was greater than 99%. In addition, the separation efficiency of the modified superhydrophilic PVDF membrane maintained stable after 10 separation cycles (>98.6%). When relying on this simple and eco-friendly preparation strategy, this superhydrophilic-underwater superoleophobic membrane material has broad application prospects in the field of industrial and domestic wastewater treatment.

Solar-Driven Unmanned Hazardous and Noxious Substance Trapping Devices Equipped with Reverse Piloti Structures and Cooling Systems

“…There are two types of typical approaches for oil/water separation: filtration and absorption. The filtration method is suitable for industrial oil/water separation settings because it allows a higher flux than the absorption method [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Since absorbents can be simply placed on oil spill sites and oil can be easily removed in situ by absorbents, the absorption method is more practical than the filtration method in cases of oil spill accidents [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”