Separating Oil-Water Nanoemulsions using Flux-Enhanced Hierarchical Membranes

Solomon, Brian; Hyder, M.N.; Varanasi, Kripa K.

doi:10.1038/srep05504

Cited by 90 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…A transmembrane pressure can be expressed as Δ P . By setting the transmembrane pressure to the breakthrough pressure, we can express the maximum flow rate as follows 41 :where ρ P is the number pore density, γ wo is the interfacial tension between water and oil, r is the radius of pore, and θ adv represents the advancing contact angle of a water droplet on the membrane surface under oil. The high water flux of our samples is contributed mainly by three factors.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Diatomite Membrane with Selective Superwettability for Oil/Water Separation

Yang

Chang

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Membranes with selective superwettability for oil/water separation have received significant attention during the past decades. Hierarchical structures and surface roughness are believed to improve the oil repellency and the stability of Cassie-Baxter state. Diatoms, unicellular photosynthetic algae, possess sophisticated skeletal shells (called frustules) which are made of hydrated silica. Motivated by the hierarchical micro- and nanoscale features of diatom, we fabricate a hierarchical diatomite membrane which consists of aligned micro-sized channels by the freeze casting process. The fine nano-porous structures of frustules are well preserved after the post sintering process. The bioinspired diatomite membrane performs both underwater superoleophobicity and superhydrophobicity under various oils. Additionally, we demonstrate the highly efficient oil/water separation capabililty of the membranes in various harsh environments. The water flux can be further adjusted by tuning the cooling rates. The eco-friendly and robust bioinspired membranes produced by the simple, cost-effective freeze casting method can be potentially applied for large scale and efficient oil/water separation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Diatomite Membrane with Selective Superwettability for Oil/Water Separation

Yang

Chang

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…40 Obviously, phase inversion is an excellent choice to fabricate oilwater emulsion separation membrane. It is true that some groundbreaking research have been done.…”

Section: Phase Inversion Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is true that some groundbreaking research have been done. Varanasi et al 40 fabricated a SHBOI hierarchical membrane by the phase-inversion process, which can be used to separate nanoemulsions. The hierarchical membrane comprises two layers: a nanoporous separation skin layer and an integrated microporous layer (Figure 4a).…”

Section: Phase Inversion Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superwetting Materials of Oil–Water Emulsion Separation

Guo

2015

Chemistry Letters

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, as a visiting scholar. Now he is a full professor in LICP financed by "Top Hundred Talents" program of CAS. Till now, he has published more than 100 papers about the interfaces of Materials.Mr. Yifan Si joined Prof. Guo's biomimetic materials of tribology (BMT) group at University of Hubei in 2014 in pursuing his Ph.D. degree. His current scientific interests are devoted to designing and fabricating superhydrophobic nanocoatings and studying their corresponding applications. AbstractWith industrial development and population expansion, the problem of water pollution has intensified. The purification of oily water, especially oilwater emulsions, is one of the important topics of environment protection. Traditional filter membranes, to some extent, are useful for the separations of oil water mixtures but suffer from many limitations and there is no effective way to achieve emulsified oilwater separation. Superwetting materials, based on bionics, have opened a brandnew door to membrane separation techniques. The rise and maturation of nanometer-scale materials also injects new vigor into this research area. In this paper, we review the contributions to oilwater emulsion separation in recent literatures. The principles of superwetting materials in separation of oilwater mixtures have been briefly stated at first. Some classical and latest examples, as well as some great work by our group, have been emphasized. Section 3 is the key point of this article. It covers the most valuable of recent progresses in advanced materials for oilwater emulsion separation, from novel polymer membranes to nanomaterial-based membranes. Of course, special-wettability materials and non-two-dimensional separation methods have also been instructive. The aim of the optimal design of superwetting membranes is to make future researches theoretical, instructive, and practical. Finally, some challenges and the potential promising breakthroughs in this field are also succinctly highlighted.

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“…Many efforts have been made to prepare superhydrophobic membranes for oil-water separation. These efforts rely on the contrasting wettability of the surface towards water and oil; that is, a membrane which repels water and adsorbs oil [44][45][46]. However, fabricating such membranes based on PVDF and using a simple process such as electrospinning has not been attempted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%