Superhydrophobic melamine sponge prepared by radiation-induced grafting technology for efficient oil-water separation

This paper presents a superhydrophobic melamine(ME)sponge(ME-g-PLMA)prepared via high-energy radiation-induced in situ covalent grafting of long-alkyl-chain dodecyl methacrylate(LMA)onto an ME sponge for efficient oil–water separation.The obtained ME-g-PLMA sponge had an excellent pore structure with superhydrophobic(water contact angle of 154°)and superoleophilic properties.It can absorb various types of oils up to 66–168 times its mass.The ME-g-PLMA sponge can continuously separate oil slicks in water by connecting a pump or separating oil underwater with a gravity-driven device.In addition,it maintained its highly hydrophobic properties even after long-term immersion in different corrosive solutions and repeated oil adsorption.The modified ME-g-PLMA sponge exhibited excellent separation properties and potential for oil spill cleanup.

Tungsten incorporated mobil-type eleven zeolite membranes: Facile synthesis and tuneable wettability for highly efficient separation of oil/water mixtures

Tungsten (W) incorporated mobil-type eleven (MEL) zeolite membrane (referred to as W-MEL membrane) with high separation performance was firstly explored for the separation of oil/water mixtures under the influence of gravity.W-MEL membranes were grown on stainless steel (SS) meshes through in-situ hydrothermal growth method facilitated with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) modification of stainless steel meshes,which promote the heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth of W-MEL zeolites onto the mesh surface.W-MEL membranes were grown on different mesh size supports to investigate the effect of mesh size on the separation performance of the membrane.The assynthesized W-MEL membrane supported on 500 mesh (25μm)(W-MEL-500) exhibit the hydrophilic nature with a water contact angle of 11.8°and delivers the best hexane/water mixture separation with a water flux and separation efficiency of 46247 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)and 99.5%,respectively.The wettability of W-MEL membranes was manipulated from hydrophilic to hydrophobic nature by chemically modifying with the fluorine-free compounds (hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and dodecyltrimethoxysilane(DDTMS)) to achieve efficient oil-permselective separation of heavy oils from water.Among the hydrophobically modified W-MEL membranes,W-MEL-500-HDTMS having a water contact angle of146.4°delivers the best separation performance for dichloromethane/water mixtures with a constant oil flux and separation efficiency of 61490 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)and 99.2%,respectively along with the stability tested up to 20 cycles.Both W-MEL-500-HDTMS and W-MEL-500-DDTMS membranes also exhibit similar separation performances for the separation of heavy oil from sea water along with a 20-fold lower corrosion rate in comparison with the bare stainless-steel mesh,indicating their excellent stability in seawater.Compared to the reported zeolite membranes for oil/water separation,the as-synthesized and hydrophobically modified W-MEL membranes shows competitive separation performances in terms of flux and separation efficiency,demonstrating the good potentiality for oil/water separation.

Quantitatively probing interactions between membrane with adaptable wettability and oil phase in oil/water separation

The membrane method based on adaptive wettability shows great advantages in oil-water separation.At present,researches focus on the excellent application performance of the membrane material,while the quantitative analysis of interactions in oil-water separation is rarely recognized.Herein,we constructed an adaptable wettability membrane with multiple polymer networks by polydopamine(PDA)and mussel-inspired amphiphilic polymer.Based on the Owens three-probe liquid method,the surface energy of the modified membrane was verified to meet the adaptive wettability conditions,with surface energies(γ-8)of 147.6 mJ m^(−2)(superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic)and 49.87 mJ m^(−2)(superhydrophobic/superoleophobic),respectively.The adhesion or repulsion of the membrane to the oil phase under different conditions during the separation process was quantified by the chemical probe AFM technique.In addition,the oil-water selective separation mechanism was further analyzed in a simplified membrane microchannel model.The results show that the different wetting produces capillary additional pressure in opposite directions,resulting in different energies to be overcome when the oil or water passes through the microchannels,thus achieving selective separation.

The superhydrophobic sponge decorated with Ni-Co double layered oxides with thiol modification for continuous oil/water separation

In this paper, the superhydrophobic polyurethane sponge(SS-PU) was facilely fabricated by etching with Jones reagent to bind the nanoparticles of Ni-Co double layered oxides(LDOs) on the surface, and following modification with n-dodecyl mercaptan(DDT). This method provides a new strategy to fabricate superhydrophobic PU sponge with a water contact angle of 157° for absorbing oil with low cost and in large scale. It exhibits the strong absorption capacity and highly selective characteristic for various kinds of oils which can be recycled by simple squeezing. Besides, the as-prepared sponge can deal with the floating and underwater oils, indicating its application value in handling oil spills and domestic oily wastewater. The good self-cleaning ability shows the potential to clear the pollutants due to the ultralow adhesion to water. Especially, the most important point is that the superhydrophobic sponge can continuously and effectively separate the oil/water mixture against the condition of turbulent disturbance by using our designed device system, which exhibit its good superhydrophobicity, strong stability.Furthermore, the SS-PU still maintained stable absorption performance after 150 cycle tests without losing capacity obviously, showing excellent durability in long-term operation and significant potential as an efficient absorbent in large-scale dispose of oily water.

Efficient oil-water separation by novel biodegradable all cellulose composite filter paper

Industrial production and domestic discharge produce a large amount of oily wastewater, which seriously affects the stability of the ecological environment. Membrane separation technology provides another path to treating oily wastewater. And appropriate surface modification of the membrane helps to achieve high efficiency of treating oily wastewater. With green, economy and stability been more concerned.The focal research reports a completely biodegradable all cellulose composite filter paper(ACCFP) composed of Ⅰ-cellulose macrofibers and Ⅱ-cellulose matrix. It is a simple one-step impregnation method to adjust the surface microstructure of the pristine filter paper(PFP), and it does not involve with chemical reaction. The pre-wetted ACCFP consist of Ⅱ-cellulose hydrogel and Ⅰ-cellulose reinforcement in the process of oil-water separation. This layer of hydrogel is the fundamental to underwater superoleophobicity, which determines their eligibility for applications of efficient oil-water mixture or oil-in-water(oil/water) emulsion separation. The separation efficiency of oil-water mixture and oil/water emulsion exceed 95% and 99.9%, respectively. In addition, excellent mechanical properties of ACCFP in dry and wet conditions ensure its stability in service and prolong service life in applications. The focal study provides a new method for high-performance oil-water separation and it is more in line with sustainable chemistry.

Fouling-resistant Composite Membranes for Separation of Oil-in-water Microemulsions

Fouling-resistant ceramic-supported polymer composite membranes were developed for removal of oil-in-water （O/W） mieroemulsions. The composite membranes were featured with an asymmetric three-layer structure, i.e., a porous ceramic membrane substrate, a polyvinylidene fluoride （PVDF） ultrafiltration sub-layer, and a polyamide/polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） composite thin top-layer. The PVDF polymer was east onto the tubular porous ceramic membranes with an immersion precipitation method, and the polyamide/PVA composite thin top-layer was fabricated with an inteffaeial polymerization method. The effects of the sub-layer composition and the recipe in the inteffaeial polymerization for fabricating the top-layer on the structure and performance of composite membranes were systematically investigated. The prepared composite membranes showed a good performance for treating the O/W microemulsions with a mean diameter of about 2.41μm. At the operating pressure of 0.4MPa, the hydraulic permeability remained steadily about 190L·m^-2·h^-1, the oil concentration in the permeate was less than 1.6mg·L^-1, and the oil rejection coefficient was always higher than 98.5% throughout the operation from the beginning.

Super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic functionalized graphene oxide/polyurethane sponge applied for oil/water separation

Nowadays, oil spills have led to a serious environmental crisis of the world. To deal with this problem, inspired from super-hydrophobic lotus leaf, this study fabricated super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic functionalized graphene oxide/polyurethane （FGP） sponge by a simple and inexpensive dip coating method. The resulting FGP sponge was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and water contact angle. The results expressed that FGP sponge exhibited a similar surface structure to that of a lotus leaf, and possessed the super-hydrophobic characteristic with the water contact angle （WAC） of 152°± 1 °. The absorption capacity and reusability were also investigated. It can be seen that, the FGP sponge can remove a wide range of oils and organic solvents from water with good absorption capacities （up to 35 times of its own mass）. Significantly, after 10 cycles the absorption capacity of the oils and organic solvents was higher than 90°; for the reused FGP sponge, demonstrating the good reusability of the FGP sponge. Therefore, this study probably provided a simole way to remove the pollutions ofoil spills and toxic organism from water.

Coalescence separation of oil water emulsion on amphiphobic fluorocarbon polymer and silica nanoparticles coated fiber-bed coalescer

Discharging untreated oily wastewater into the environment disrupts the ecological balance,which is a global problem that requires urgent solutions.Superhydrophilic and superoleophilic fibrous medium(FM)effectively separated oil–water emulsion as it was hydrophobic underwater.But its separation efficiencies(SEs)first increased to 98.9%,then dropped to 97.6%in 10 min because of oil-fouling.To tackle this problem,FM deposited with 0%–10%silica nanoparticle(NPsFMs),then coated by fluorocarbon polymer(X-[CH_(2)CH_(2)O]nCH_(2)CH_(2)O-Y-NH-COOCH_(2)C4F9)(FCNPs FMs),was used to enhance its roughness and regulate its initial wettability to improve the anti-fouling property.FCFM and FCNPs FMs were hydrophobic and oleophobic in air and oleophobic underwater.Their water contact angles,oil contact angles and oil contact angles were 115.3°–121.1°,128.8°–136.5°,and 131.6°–136.7°,respectively,meeting the requirement of 90°–140°for coalescence separation.FCNPs FM-5 had the best separation performance with a constant value of 99.8%in 10 min,while that of FCNPs FM-10 slightly decreased to 99.5%.Theoretical released droplet(TRD)diameter,calculated by the square root of the product of pore radius and fiber diameter,was used for the evaluation of coalescence performance.Analyzed by two ideal models,TRD diameter and fiber diameter showed a parabola type relationship,proving that the separation efficiency was a collaborative work of wettability,pore size and fiber diameter.Also,it explained the SEs reduction from FCNPs FM-5 to FCNPs FM-10 was revelent to the three parameters.Moreover,FCNPsFMs effectively separated emulsions stabilized by cationic surfactant CTAB(SEs:97.3%–98.4%)and anionic surfactant SDBS(SEs:91.3%–93.4%).But they had an adverse effect on nonionic surfactant Tween-80 emulsion separation(SEs:94.0%–71.76%).Emulsions made by diverse oils can be effectively separated:octane(SEs:99.4%–100%),rapeseed oil(SEs:97.3%–98.8%),and diesel(SEs:95.2%–97.0%).These findings provide new insights for designing novel materials for oil–water separation by coalescence mechanism.

Cyclonic separation process intensification oil removal based on microbubble flotation

The cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column has dual effects including the cyclonic separation and floatation separation with the characteristics of the small lower limit of the effective separation size, short separation time, large handling capacity, and low operation cost. It shows significant advantages in the oily wastewater treatment field, especially the polymer flooding oily wastewater treatment aspect. In this paper, the cyclonic separation function mechanism of the cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column was studied, the impact of the parameters including the feeding rate, aeration rate, circulating pressure, and underflow split ratio on the cyclonic separation efficiency was investigated, and the cyclonic separation efficiency model was established as well. In addition, by applying the Doppler Laser Velocimeter (LDV) and Fluent simulation software, the test and simulation to the single-phase flow velocity field of the cyclonic separation section of the cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column were carried out, and the velocity distribution rule of the cyclonic separation section was analyzed under the singlephase flow conditions.

Development and prospect of separated zone oil production technology

This article outlines the development of separated zone oil production in foreign countries,and details its development in China.According to the development process,production needs,technical characteristics and adaptability of oilfields in China,the development of separate zone oil production technology is divided into four stages:flowing well zonal oil production,mechanical recovery and water blocking,hydraulically adjustable zonal oil production,and intelligent zonal production.The principles,construction processes,adaptability,advantages and disadvantages of the technology are introduced in detail.Based on the actual production situation of the oilfields in China at present,three development directions of the technology are proposed.First,the real-time monitoring and adjustment level of separated zone oil production needs to be improved by developing downhole sensor technology and two-way communication technology between ground and downhole and enhancing full life cycle service capability and adaptability to horizontal wells.Second,an integrated platform of zonal oil production and management should be built using a digital artificial lifting system.Third,integration of injection and production should be implemented through large-scale application of zonal oil production and zonal water injection to improve matching and adjustment level between the injection and production parameters,thus making the development adjustment from"lag control"to"real-time optimization"and improving the development effect.

Separation of Oil Phase from Dilute Oil/Water Emulsion in Confined Space Apparatus

A miniature process for separating the oil phase from dilute oil/water emulsion is developed.This process applies a confined space apparatus,which is a thin flow channel made of two parallel plastic plates.The space between the two plates is rather narrow to improve the collisions between oil droplets and the plate surface.Oil droplets have an affinity for the plate surface and thus are captured,and then coalesce onto the surface.The droplet size distribution of the residual emulsion resulted from the separation process is remarkably changed.The oil layer on the plate weakens the further separation of oil droplets from the emulsion.Three types of plate materials,polypropylene(PP),polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) and nylon 66,were used.It is found that PP is the best in terms of the oil separation efficiency and nylon 66 is the poorest.The interaction between droplets in the emulsion and plate surface is indicated by the spreading coefficient of oil droplet on the plate in aqueous environment,and the influences of formed oil layer and plate material on the separation efficiency are discussed.

Highly Durable Ag-CuO Heterostructure-Decorated Mesh for Efficient Oil/Water Separation and In Situ Photocatalytic Dye Degradation

It is of great necessity yet still a challenge to develop superwetting functional interfacial materials for simultaneously separating insoluble oil and degrading soluble dye pollutants in practical wastewater.In this work,a Ag-CuO heterostructure-decorated mesh was fabricated via facile alkali etchingcalcination and photoreduction approaches.The as-synthesized mesh with superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity displayed high separation efficiency(>99.998%)for diverse oil/water mixtures.Besides,it demonstrated more superior photocatalytic performance in dye degradation than those of bare CuO nanostructure-coated materials,which is primarily attributed to the intensive visible light harvesting and efficient electron-holes separation occurred on noble metal-semiconductor heterostructures.Furthermore,on account of the tenacity of Cu substrate as well as enhanced structural stability,this binary composite-decorated mesh exhibited highly reliable durability and robustness after 10 cycles of photocatalytic degradation tests,and even being ultrasonic worn for 30 min.More importantly,our developed mesh was capable of in situ catalytic degrading water-soluble organic dyes during oil/water separation under visible light irradiation.Therefore,such a dexterous and feasible strategy may afford a new route to construct bifunctional and predurable materials for actual sewage purification.

Cocracking and Separate Cracking of Straight-Run Gasoline and Light Gas Oil

This paper presents experimental results of cocracking of straight-run gasoline (SRG) and light gaS oil (LGO) in an improved pulsed-micro-pyrolyzer. It is shown that there are negative opergistic effect on the yields and selectivities of ethylene and propylene in cocracking. The difference in coking tendencies betWeen the cocracking and the separate cracking is compared as well.

Electrospinning organic solvent resistant preoxidized poly(acrylonitrile)nanofiber membrane and its properties

A high performance preoxidized poly(acrylonitrile)(O-PAN)nanofiber membrane with excellent solvent resistance,thermal stability and flexibility was fabricated by the preoxidation of electrospun PAN nanofiber membrane.The performance of resultant O-PAN nanofiber membrane was optimized by altering the PAN concentration and preoxidation temperature.The results showed that the O-PAN nanofiber membrane which made from PAN concentration of 14%(mass)and preoxidation temperature of 250.0
℃ have a more optimal comprehensive performance.In the long-term separation test of SiO2 particle(1 μm)in DMAc suspension,the permeate flux of O-PAN nanofiber membrane stabilized at 227.91 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)(25
℃,0.05 MPa)while the SiO2 rejection above 99.6%,which showed excellent solvent resistance and separation performance.In order to further explore the application of the O-PAN nanofiber membrane,the OPAN nanofiber membrane was treated with fluoride and used in oil/water separation process.The O-PAN nanofiber membrane after hydrophobic treatment showed excellent hydrophobicity and good oil/water separation performance with the permeate flux about 969.59 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)while the separation efficiency above 96.1%.The O-PAN nanofiber membrane exhibited a potential application prospect in harsh environment separation.

膜接触破乳——用于油包水乳液分离的超疏水ZIF-8@rGO膜

水-油界面不平衡是实现油水乳液破乳的关键。传统膜通常是依赖较高的跨膜压力破坏界面平衡而实现破乳。本文提出了可自然、快速地破坏水-油界面平衡的“接触破乳”的概念,开发了一种对有机组分具有高通量的新型破乳分离膜。具体制备过程分为两步,首先通过真空辅助抽滤法在聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)基底上组装ZIF-8@rGO微球(ZGS)层,再采用聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)交联溶液中进行固定化处理。由于ZGS表面为微纳米阶层结构,所制备的ZIF-8@rGO@PDMS/PTFE(ZGPP)膜表面展现出超疏水性特性,当表面活性剂稳定的油包水乳液接触到膜表面时,微纳结构的超疏水膜表面会引起水-油界面不平衡。ZGPP膜对油包水乳液具有良好的分离破乳性能,在0.15 bar(15 kPa)的低跨膜压力下,分离效率可以达到99.57%,通量可达到2254 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1),且对于表面活性剂稳定的纳米级甲苯-水乳剂(平均液滴尺寸为57 nm)的体系也可以实现破乳分离。“接触破乳”概念的提出有望为开发新一代油包水乳液分离的破乳膜提供新的思路。

Demulsification with simultaneous water purification by coupling filtration and enhanced oil droplet coalescence at anode interface in an electrochemical reactor

With the increasing demand of recycling disposal of industrial wastewater,oil-in-water(O/W)emulsion has been paid much attention in recent years owing to its high oil con-tent.However,due to the presence of surfactant and salt,the emulsion was usually stable with complex physicochemical interfacial properties leading to increased processing diffi-culty.Herein,a novel flow-through electrode-based demulsification reactor(FEDR)was well designed for the treatment of saline O/W emulsion.In contrast to 53.7%for electrical demul-sification only and 80.3%for filtration only,the COD removal efficiency increased to 92.8%under FEDR system.Moreover,the pore size of electrode and the applied voltage were two key factors that governed the FEDR demulsification performance.By observing the mor-phology of oil droplets deposited layer after different operation conditions and the behavior of oil droplets at the electrode surface under different voltage conditions,the mechanism was proposed that the oil droplets first accumulated on the surface of flow-through elec-trode by sieving effect,subsequently the gathered oil droplets could further coalesce with the promoting effect of the anode,leading to a high-performing demulsification.This study offers an attractive option of using flow-through electrode to accomplish the oil recovery with simultaneous water purification.

A scalable versatile methodology to construct micro/nano open-cell polypropylene foam with high oil adsorption capacity and speed

Oil pollution is a serious environmental and natural resource problem.Traditional adsorption materials for oil–water separation have limitations in terms of their preparation cost,reusability,and mechanical properties.Among the conventional adsorption materials,super-hydrophobic/super-lipophilic materials are easily contaminated by oil.In this study,polypropylene(PP)is used as a foam substrate to prepare an open-cell PP foam via hot pressing,supercritical CO_(2) foaming,and electron beam(EB)irradiation.The impact of EB irradiation dose on the open-cell content of PP foam can lead to cell wall rupture,resulting in an open-cell structure that enhances oil-water separation performance.At an absorbed radiation dose of 200 kGy,the PP foams exhibit optimal oil–water separation performance,cyclic compression stability,heat insulation,and preparation cost.The open-cell content of PP foam is increased to 86.5%,the adsorption capacity for diesel oil is 42.8 g/g,and the adsorption efficiency remains at 99.6%after 100 cycles of oil desorption in a complex pH environment.Meanwhile,cracks and nano-voids simultaneously promote the capillary action of oil,and the oil transport rate is 0.0713 g/(g·s).This study provides a new concept for the preparation of open-cell polymer foams that can meet the demand for high oil-absorption capacity under complex acid-base pH conditions.

FLUID FLOW SEPARATION CHARACTER ON NOVEL HYBRID JOURNAL BEARING

The influence of the structure and running parameters of a novel spiral oil wedge hybrid journal bearing on the fluid flow trace is investigated. The governing equation of the flow trace of lubricant is set up, and the simulation is carried out by using finite difference method. The results show that the lubricant flow status and end leakage quantity are greatly influenced by spiral angle,and that the rotating speed has little influence on the flow status. With advisable geometry design, the separation of lubricant between different oil wedges can be obtained, which can decrease the temperature rise effectively.

Fast processing nylon mesh by surface diffuse atmospheric plasma for large-area oil/water separation

In recent years,numerous studies have been reported for oil/water separation,such as superoleophilic materials for oil absorption and underwater superoleophobic membranes for continuous separation.However,for the recovery of oil slick pollution on near-shore ocean surface caused by various reasons,large area and fast availability of used materials are needed to be considered.Herein,we report an efficient and environmentally friendly method to fast process nylon mesh by surface diffuse atmospheric plasma(SDAP)for large-area oil/water separation.Nylon mesh is funcionalized by atmospheric plasma to generate micro/nano composite structures on the surface,resulting in superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity within only seconds.The pre-wetted modified nylon mesh can achieve high efficiency(>99.9%)and circulating water flux(~30,000 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)),with high intrusion pressure(~3 kPa)and universality in oil/water separation.Regular plasma unconditionally generated in the atmosphere with the merit of efficiently functionalizing surface has the potential of large-area materials treatment.This study might take one step further for large-area industrial oily wastewater recovery and even oil slicks collection in near-shore water bodies.

Green Fabrication of Underwater Superoleophobic Biopolymeric Nanofibrous Membranes for Effective Oil-Water Separation

Currently,most of the materials for oil-water separation membranes are limited to fluorine-based polymers with low surface energy.However,it is not biodegradable and requires large amounts of organic and toxic solvents in the membrane manufacturing process.Therefore,interest in the development of a new eco-friendly oil-water separation membrane that does not cause secondary pollution and exhibits selective wettability characteristics in water or oil is increasing.The biopolymeric nanofibrous membranes inspired by fish skin can provide specific underwater oleophobicity,which is effective for excellent oil-water separation efficiency and prevention of secondary contamination.Fish gelatin,which is highly soluble in water and has a low gelation temperature,can be electrospun in an aqueous solution and has the same polar functional groups as the hydrophilic mucilage of fish skin.In addition,the micro/nanostructure of fish skin,which induces superoleophobicity in water,introduces a bead-on-string structure using the Rayleigh instability of electrospinning.The solubility of fish gelatin in water was removed using an eco-friendly crosslinking method using reducing sugars.Fish skin-mimicking materials successfully separated suspended oil and emulsified oil,with a maximum flux of 2086 Lm^(−2) h^(−1) and a separation efficiency of more than 99%.The proposed biopolymeric nanofibrous membranes use fish gelatin,which can be extracted from fish waste and has excellent biodegradability with excellent oil-water separation performance.In addition,polymer material processing,including membrane manufacturing and crosslinking,can be realized through eco-friendly processes.Therefore,fish skin-inspired biopolymeric membrane is expected to be a promising candidate for a sustainable and effective oil-water separation membrane in the future.