Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2020.08.037

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (10): 76-83.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2020.08.037

• Separation Science and Engineering • Previous Articles Next Articles

Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers

Yujie Yang^1,2,3, Lei Li^1,3, Qian Zhang^1,3, Wenwen Chen², Song Lin⁴, Zaiqian Wang⁴, Wangliang Li^1,3

1. CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules & Magnetic Information Materials Ministry of Education, The School of Chemical and Material Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, China;
3. Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
4. Guizhou Water Fuquan Co., Ltd, Guiyang 550081, China

Received:2020-06-23 Revised:2020-08-16 Online:2021-12-02 Published:2021-10-28
Contact: Wenwen Chen, Wangliang Li
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB0308000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21706259), the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing (SKLOP201903001), Guizhou Science Technology Support Program ([2019] 2839) and the Natural Science Youth Foundation of Shanxi Province (No. 201701D221033) and Program of Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, CAS (IAGM2020C04).

Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers

Yujie Yang^1,2,3, Lei Li^1,3, Qian Zhang^1,3, Wenwen Chen², Song Lin⁴, Zaiqian Wang⁴, Wangliang Li^1,3

1. CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules & Magnetic Information Materials Ministry of Education, The School of Chemical and Material Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, China;
3. Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
4. Guizhou Water Fuquan Co., Ltd, Guiyang 550081, China

通讯作者: Wenwen Chen, Wangliang Li
基金资助:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB0308000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21706259), the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing (SKLOP201903001), Guizhou Science Technology Support Program ([2019] 2839) and the Natural Science Youth Foundation of Shanxi Province (No. 201701D221033) and Program of Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, CAS (IAGM2020C04).

Abstract

Abstract: A novel and high-efficiency coalescence membrane enhanced by nano-sized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers based on polyester (PET) substrate was fabricated using electrospinning method. The properties of the electrospun nanofibers such as roughness and surface morphology greatly affected the oil droplet interception efficiency and surface wettability of the membrane. A series of coalescence units were prepared with different layers of nanofibrous membrane and the separation efficiencies at different initial concentrations, flow rates, and oil types were tested. It is very interesting that the obtained nanofibrous membrane exhibited superoleophilicity in air but poor oleophilicity under water, which was beneficial to the coalescence process. The coalescence unit with four membrane layers had excellent performances under different initial concentrations and flow rates. The separation efficiency of the 4-layers unit remained above 98.2% when the initial concentration reached up to 2000 mg·L^-1. Furthermore, the unit also exhibited good performance with the increasing oil density and viscosity, which is promising for large-scale oil wastewater treatment.

Key words: Coalescence, Electrospinning, Nanofibrous membrane, Oil-in-water emulsions

摘要： A novel and high-efficiency coalescence membrane enhanced by nano-sized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers based on polyester (PET) substrate was fabricated using electrospinning method. The properties of the electrospun nanofibers such as roughness and surface morphology greatly affected the oil droplet interception efficiency and surface wettability of the membrane. A series of coalescence units were prepared with different layers of nanofibrous membrane and the separation efficiencies at different initial concentrations, flow rates, and oil types were tested. It is very interesting that the obtained nanofibrous membrane exhibited superoleophilicity in air but poor oleophilicity under water, which was beneficial to the coalescence process. The coalescence unit with four membrane layers had excellent performances under different initial concentrations and flow rates. The separation efficiency of the 4-layers unit remained above 98.2% when the initial concentration reached up to 2000 mg·L^-1. Furthermore, the unit also exhibited good performance with the increasing oil density and viscosity, which is promising for large-scale oil wastewater treatment.

关键词: Coalescence, Electrospinning, Nanofibrous membrane, Oil-in-water emulsions

Yujie Yang, Lei Li, Qian Zhang, Wenwen Chen, Song Lin, Zaiqian Wang, Wangliang Li. Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2021, 38(10): 76-83.

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Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers

Enhanced coalescence separation of oil-in-water emulsions using electrospun PVDF nanofibers

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