Excellent oil/water separation performance of poly(styrene‐alt‐maleic anhydride)/fluorocarbon surfactant membrane filter with functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Polymer/fluorocarbon surfactant membranes have been reported to display excellent oleophobic/hydrophilic behavior and outstanding oil/water separation properties. In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) enhanced poly(styrene‐alt‐maleic anhydride)/fluorocarbon surfactant (PSMA/MWNTs/FS) membrane filters were prepared by dip‐coating PSMA/MWNTs/FS on stainless steel meshes for efficient oil/water separation. The microstructure, thermal properties, wettability, oil/water separation ability, and recyclability were investigated. The results revealed that the MWNTs are suitably dispersed in the membrane, further increasing the thermal stability, oil/water separation efficiency, and recyclability. The oil/water separation efficiency of the complex membrane filter containing MWNTs was 99% initially and 97% after 20 cycles. This work provides a simple, low‐cost, and environmentally friendly approach for efficient oil/water separation.

Solventless Polymer-Grafted Mesh for Rapid and Efficient Oil–Water Separation

“…During the 20 cycles of reuse in hexane–water separation, the oil rejection rate was maintained over 99% (Figure b), and the average water flux of the PMAA-grafted mesh was 51,423 ± 1176 L m –2 h –1 (Figure S6). It is noted that the grafted mesh was reused with no mesh cleaning, which was reported to regenerate oil–water separation meshes and restore the water flux. ,, Compared with the reported reuse of hydrophilic meshes (Table S1), the PMAA-grafted meshes demonstrated a flux decay of 2.7% after 20 cycles of oil–water separation. As for the PMAA-crosslinked mesh, not only the water flux was much lower, but the hexane rejection also dropped below 97% at cycle 7, and the mesh completely lost the separation capability at cycle 11 (Figure b).…”

“…Consequently, the obstruction of pore openings led to the reduction of water flux, 19,32,34 and the water flux continued to decrease with the repeated use in oil−water separation. 19,33,35 To implement oil−water separation meshes in industrial applications, where large volumes of oily wastewater need to be deoiled, 36,37 further study is essential to investigate how to maximize water flux while accomplishing high oil rejection rates.…”

“…Meshes modified with hydrogels that absorb and trap water in the crosslinked network have demonstrated high oil rejection rates of over 99%. − Most of the hydrogel modifications required wet chemical processing with multiple complex procedures, resulting in the attachment of thick coatings to the mesh wires − and the formation of a web structure ,, or a skin layer ,− inside the pores. Consequently, the obstruction of pore openings led to the reduction of water flux, ,, and the water flux continued to decrease with the repeated use in oil–water separation. ,, To implement oil–water separation meshes in industrial applications, where large volumes of oily wastewater need to be deoiled, , further study is essential to investigate how to maximize water flux while accomplishing high oil rejection rates.…”

Improvement in the Output Power of Near-Ultraviolet LEDs of p-GaN Nanorods through SiO2 Nanosphere Mask Lithography with the Dip-Coating Method

“…Additionally, it has been found that SDS has a strong influence on the formation of SiO 2 spherical films at different concentrations [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”