Ultrahydrophobic melamine sponge via interfacial modification with reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposite and polydimethylsiloxane for oily wastewater treatment

Three-dimensional(3D)porous absorbents have attracted significant attention in the oily wastewater treatment technology due to their high porosity and elasticity.Given their amphiphilic surface,they have a propensity to simultaneously absorb water and oil,which restricts their range of applications.In this study,a reduced graphene oxide and titanium dioxide nanocomposite(rGO/TiO_(2))was used to fabricate an ultra-hydrophobic melamine sponge(MS)through interfacial modification using a solution immersion technique.To further modify it,poly-dimethylsiloxane(PDMS)was grafted onto its surface to establish stronger covalent bonds with the composite.The water contact angle of the sponge(rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS)was 164.2°,which satisfies the condition for ultrahydrophobicity.The evidence of its water repellency was demonstrated by the Cassie-Baxter theory and the lotus leaf effect.As a result of the increased density of rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS,it recorded an initial capacity that was 2 g/g lower than the raw MS for crude oil absorption.The raw MS retained 53% of its initial absorption capacity after 20 cycles of absorption,while rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS retained 97%,suggesting good recyclability.Excellent oil and organic solvent recovery(90%-96%)was demonstrated by rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS in oil-water combinations.In a continuous separation system,it achieved a remarkable separation efficiency of 2.4×10^(6)L/(m^(3)·h),and in turbulent emulsion separation,it achieved a demulsification efficiency of 90%-91%.This study provides a practical substitute for massive oil spill cleaning.

Experimental investigation and modeling of flotation column for treatment of oily wastewater

A unique cyclonic static microbubble flotation column was developed for oily wastewater separation.The separation effciency was found to be highly dependent on gas holdup and bubble size distribution.By changing the circulation pressure,gas flow rate,frother concentration,the effect of operation parameters on gas holdup and oil removal effciency were attained.A mathematical modeling between the kinetic constant and the gas holdup was established for oily water separation process.The results show that higher gas holdup and smaller microbubble sizes are benefcial to improve oil removal effciency.

Effect of Coagulant Agents on Oily Wastewater Treatment Performance Using Mullite Ceramic MF Membranes： Experimental and Modeling Studies

In this paper, fouling mechanisms of mullite ceramic membranes for treatment of oily wastewaters in hybrid coagulation-microfiltration （MF） process presented. Hermia＇s models for cross flow filtration were used to investigate the fouling mechanisms of membranes with various coagulating chemicals concentrations. Four coagu lating chemicals （FeC12.4H20, FeSO4.7H20, A1C13-6H20 and A12（SO4）3.18H20） plus Ca（OH）2 of the same concen- tration were evaluated in the coagulation-MF hybrid process with different concentrations （0, 50 mg.L-1, 100 mg.L-1 and 200 mg.L-1）. To determine whether the data agree with models under consideration, the coefficients of determination （R2） of all models were compared with one another. In addition, average prediction errors of models were calculated. The results showed that cake filtration model can be applied for prediction of permeation flux decline for MF and coagulation-（MF） hybrid process with the best average error equal to 0.09%. Results indicated that pore blocking behavior changes as time of filtration increases, and one model cannot predict pore blocking behavior in all filtration time with very good precision.

Treatment of phosphate-containing oily wastewater by coagulation and microfiltration

The oily wastewater generated from pretreatment unit of electrocoating industry contains oils, phosphate, organic solvents, and surfactants. In order to improve the removal efficiencies of phosphate and oils, to mitigate the membrane fouling, coagulation for ceramic membrane microfiltration of oily wastewater was performed. The results of filtration tests show that the membrane fouling decreased and the permeate flux and quality increased with coagulation as pretreatment. At the coagulant Ca （OH）2 dosage of 900 mg/L, the removal efficiency of phosphate was increased from 46.4% without coagulation to 99.6%; the removal of COD and oils were 97.0% and 99.8%, respectively. And the permeate flux was about 70% greater than that when Ca（OH）2 was not used. The permeate obtained from coagulation and microfiltration can be reused as make-up water, and the recommended operation conditions for pilot and industrial application are transmembrane pressure of 0.10 MPa and cross-flow velocity of 5 m/s. The comparison results show that 0.2 μm ZrO2 microfilter with coagulation could be used to perform the filtration rather than conventional ultrafilter, with very substantial gain in flux and removal efficiency of phosphate.

On an ecology-friendly treatment reagent for oily wastewater

Bioflocculants have received increasing attention in research because they are low cost,non-toxic,biodegradable,operationally simple and useful in many water and wastewater treatment applications.In this study,we focused mainly on the screening of the flocculant-producing strain and its application in oily wastewater treatment.Bacteria strain B-6-1 was isolated by the pyridine screening method.UPC-1 reagent produced by B-6-1 had efficient flocculating activity.It was deduced that the main component of UPC-1 reagent was polysaccharide through purification and analysis.The influence of dosage of reagent,pH value,temperature and oil concentration on the flocculation effect of UPC-1 reagent was investigated.

Oily Wastewater Treatment by Porous Ceramics Mediums with Surface Lipophilic Modification

Aiming at the treatment of difficult-to-handle oily wastewater, the ceramics filter mediums made from the iron and steel plant sludge were adopted to surface lipophilic modification so as to remove oil efficiently. The hydrolysis technique by FTIR and conductivity test indicated that under acid conditions hydrogen silicon oil did not hydrolyze but release hydrogen by chemical reaction under alkaline conditions. The results of the experiments including contact angle measurement, FTIR analysis, and SEM analysis illustrate that a layer of lipophile coating indeed exists evenly on the surface of filter mediums after modification. Furthermore, the hydrogen-containing silicone oil was combined through dehydration of Si-H bond with the-OH on the surface of ceramic filter medium.

Membrane fouling behavior and microbial community succession in a submerged membrane bioreactor treating harbor oily wastewater

A membrane bioreactor （MBR） was established for treating harbor oily wastewater. It showed good removal performance for chemical oxygen demand （COD）, oil content, suspended solids （SS）, and other pollutants. However, serious membrane fouling occurred. It was recognized that the extracellular polymeric substances （EPS） accumulated on the membrane surface, especially the proteins, were of great importance for the transmembrane pressure （TMP） increment and membrane fouling. The MBR was optimized via improving aeration rate and reducing the ratio of Ar/Ad （At and Ad are the cross-sectional areas of the riser and the downcomer of the MBR）. The increasing rate of TMP was slowed, indicating that the optimization strategy could effectively mitigate membrane fouling. Microbial community evolution was monitored and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （PCR-DGGE）, cloning, and sequencing of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid （rRNA） fragments. Results revealed that low community shift occurred during the whole operational period. Geobacter sp. and Rhodocyclales sp., which have also been identified by other studies in a petroleum refinery wastewater MBR or an infiltration basin receiving highway runoff, dominated in the MBR system throughout. Comamonas sp. was thought to accommodate the lower aeration rate in this study, while Rhodocyclales sp. preferred the higher aeration rate. In addition, during the operational time under high organic loading rate, a few species were present in abundance, and may have been responsible for the good removal performance at this time.

Recent improvements in oily wastewater treatment:Progress, challenges, and future opportunities

Oily wastewater poses significant threats to the soil, water, air and human beings because of the hazardous nature of its oil contents. The objective of this review paper is to highlight the current and recently developed methods for oily wastewater treatment through which contaminants such as oil, fats, grease, and inorganics can be removed for safe applications.These include electrochemical treatment, membrane filtration, biological treatment,hybrid technologies, use of biosurfactants, treatment via vacuum ultraviolet radiation,and destabilization of emulsions through the use of zeolites and other natural minerals.This review encompasses innovative and novel approaches to oily wastewater treatment and provides scientific background for future work that will be aimed at reducing the adverse impact of the discharge of oily wastewater into the environment. The current challenges affecting the optimal performance of oily wastewater treatment methods and opportunities for future research development in this field are also discussed.

Biotreatment of oily wastewater by rhamnolipids in aerated active sludge system

Oily wastewater generated by various industries creates a major ecological problem throughout the world. The tra- ditional methods for the oily wastewater treatment are inefficient and costly. Surfactants can promote the biodegradation of pe- troleum hydrocarbons by dispersing oil into aqueous environment. In the present study, we applied rhamnolipid-containing cell-free culture broth to enhance the biodegradation of crude oil and lubricating oil in a conventional aerobically-activated sludge system. At 20 ℃, rhamnolipids （11.2 mg/L） increased the removal efficiency of crude oil from 17.7% （in the absence of rham- nolipids） to 63%. At 25 ~C, the removal efficiency of crude oil was over 80% with the presence of rhamnolipids compared with 22.3% in the absence of rhamnolipids. Similarly, rhamnolipid treatment （22.5 mg/L） for 24 h at 20℃ significantly increased the removal rate of lubricating oil to 92% compared with 24% in the absence of rhamnolipids. The enhanced removal of hydrocarbons was mainly attributed to the improved solubility and the reduced interfacial tension by rhamnolipids. We conclude that a direct application of the crude rhamnolipid solution from cell culture is effective and economic in removing oily contaminants from wastewater.

Effective purification of oily wastewater using lignocellulosic biomass:A review

Due to the frequent occurrence of oil spills and the large-scale production of oily wastewater, the treatment of oily sewage has become an important issue for sustainable development. Recently, materials prepared from lignocellulosic biomass(LCB) for oil-water separation have been found to be effective due to their high separation efficiency, good recyclability, and superior sustainability. However, few reviews have focused on the advantages and limitations of LCB for sewage treatment. This review summarizes the performance of modified LCB in oily wastewater treatment, in terms of the advanced modification methods applied and the structural dimensions of LCB materials according to the principle of superwetting oil-water separation. Research on the preparation technologies, separation mechanisms, and treatment efficiency of different LCB materials are briefly summarized, along with the characteristics of different LCB material types for oily wastewater treatment. Finally, the future prospects and challenges faced in the development of LCB materials are discussed.

Separation of Oil from Wastewater by Column Flotation

A new type of device,a dissolved-air flotation column,was developed for separation of oily wastewater. The unique design idea of the dissolved-air flotation column is the combined use of dissolved-air flotation and column flotation. The dissolved air release occurred within the column separation system. As a potential application the column was investigated for its performance in separating emulsified oil droplets in oily wastewater. A high separation efficiency was obtained in a series of tests. The aeration performance of the bubble generator used in the dissolved-air flotation column was also studied in particular.

Biochar Supported Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron Composites for the Removal of Petroleum from Wastewater

Considering the need for efficiently and rapidly treating oily wastewater while preventing secondary pollution,the nanoscale zero-valent iron(nZVI)was supported on biochar prepared by using a spent mushroom substrate(SMS),to produce an iron-carbon composite(SMS-nZVI).The ability of the SMS-nZVI to treat wastewater containing high concentration of oil was then comprehensively evaluated.The morphology,structure,and other properties of the composite were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller nitrogen sorption analysis,and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.The results show that the biochar prepared by using the SMS can effectively prevent the agglomeration of nZVI and increase the overall specific surface area,thereby enhancing the absorption of petroleum by the composite.Experiments reveal that compared with the SMS and nZVI,the SMS-nZVI composite removes petroleum faster and more efficiently from wastewater.Under optimized conditions involving an nZVI to biochar mass ratio of 1:5 and a pH value of 4,the efficiency for removal of petroleum from wastewater with an initial petroleum concentration of 1000 mg/L could reach 95%within 5 h.Based on a natural aging treatment involving exposure to air for 30 d,the SMS-nZVI composite retained an oil removal rate of higher than 62%,and this result could highlight its stability for practical applications.

Adsorption of oil from waste water by coal:characteristics and mechanism

The work described here was focused on exploring the potential application of coal to purification of oily waste water.Coal was added to oily waste water as an adsorbent and then removed through a flotation process.This allowed economical and highly efficient separation of oil from the waste water.The absorption time,coal type,coal particle size distribution,pH value and oil concentration were investigated.The results indicate that oil absorption by a coal increases for a period of 1.5 h and then gradually tends toward an equilibrium value.It appears that the absorption capacity of anthracite is more than that of lean coal or lignite,given the same coal particle size distribution.The absorption capacity of a coarse coal fraction is less than that of finer coal,given the same of coal type.The absorption capacity of anthracite decreases slightly as the pH increases from 4 to 9.The adsorption of oil on anthracite follows the Freundlich isothermal adsorption law:given initial oil concentrations of 160.5 or 1023.6 mg/L the absorption capacity was 23.8 or 840.0 mg/g.The absorption mechanism consists of two kinds of absorption,a physical process assisted by a chemical one.

Solar evaporation for simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation with Janus wood-based absorbers

Oily wastewater from ocean oil spills endangers marine ecosystems and human health. Therefore, developing an effective and sustainable solution for separating oil-water mixtures is urgent. Interfacial solar photothermal evaporation is a promising approach for the complete separation of two-phase mixtures using only solar energy. Herein, we report a carbonized wood-based absorber with Janus structure of comprising a hydrophobic top-layer and an oleophobic bottom-layer for simultaneous solar-driven oil-water separation and electricity generation. Under sunlight irradiation, the rapid evaporation of seawater will induce a separation of oil-water mixtures, and cause a high salt concentration region underlying the interface, while the bottom “bulk water” maintains in a low salt concentration, thus forming a salinity gradient. Electricity can be generated by salinity gradient power. Therefore, oil-water separation efficiency of > 99% and derived extra electricity power of ~0.1 W/m2 is achieved under solar radiation, demonstrating the feasibility of oil-water separation and electricity production synchronously directly using solar energy. This work provides a green and cost-effective path for the separation of oil-water mixtures.

Preparation and characterization of hydrothermally engineered TiO2-fly ash composite membrane

This work targets the preparation and char-acterization of an inexpensive TiO2-fly ash composite membrane for oily wastewater treatment. The composite membrane was fabricated by depositing a hydrophilic TiO2 layer on a fly ash membrane via the hydrothermal method, and its structural, morphological and mechanical properties were evaluated. The separation potential of the composite membrane was evaluated for 100-200 mg·L^-1 synthetic oily wastewater solutions. The results show that the composite membrane has excellent separation performance and can provide permeate stream with oil concentration of only 0.26-5.83 mg·L^-1. Compared with the fly ash membrane in the average permeate flux and performance index （49.97 × 10^-4 m^3·m^2·s^-1 and 0.4620%, respectively）, the composite membrane exhibits better performance （51.63× 10^-4 m^3·m^2·s^-1 and 0.4974%）. For the composite surface methodology based ash membrane, the response analysis inferred that the optimum process parameters to achieve maximum membrane flux and rejection are 207 kPa, 200 mg·L^-1 and 0.1769 m·s^-1 for applied pressure, feed concentration and cross flow velocity, respectively. Under these conditions, predicted responses are 41.33× 10^-4 m^3·m^2·s^-1 permeate flux and 98.7% rejection, which are in good agreement with the values obtained from experimental investigations （42.84× 10^-4 m^3·m^2·s^-1 and 98.82%）. Therefore, we have demonstrated that the TiO2-fty ash composite membrane as value added product is an efficient way to recycle fly ash and thus mitigate environmental hazards associated with the disposal of oily wastewaters.

A novel bird-nest-like air superoleophobic/superhydrophilic Cu(OH)2-based composite coating for efficient oil–water separation

An air superoleophobic/superhydrophilic composite coating with a unique structure was fabricated by oxidation and further modification of the copper mesh,and its design principle was clarified.This unique bird-nest-like configuration gives it instant superhydrophilicity due to the high surface roughness and high polar surface free energy components,while air superoleophobicity is caused by its extremely low dispersive surface free energy components.Furthermore,a water-resistance mechanism was proposed whereby a polyelectrolyte plays a critical role in improving the water-resistance of fluorosurfactants.It can separate oil–water mixtures with high efficiency(98.72%)and high flux(25185 L·m−2·h−1),and can be reused.In addition,our composite coating had certain anti-acid,anti-alkali,anti-salt and anti-sand impact performance.More importantly,after being soaked in water for a long time or being exposed to the air for a long time,it still retained ultra-high air oil contact angle and showed excellent stability,which provided the possibility for practical applications.Thus,these findings offer the potential for significant practical applications in managing oily wastewater and marine oil spill incidents.