Chen Peng-Cheng, Xu Zhi-Kang
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, P. R. China.
Sci Rep. 2013 Sep 27;3:2776. doi: 10.1038/srep02776.
Oil-polluted water is a worldwide problem due to the increasing industrial oily wastewater and the frequent oil spill accidents. Here, we report a novel kind of superhydrophilic hybrid membranes for effective oil/water separation. They were prepared by depositing CaCO3-based mineral coating on PAA-grafted polypropylene microfiltration membranes. The rigid mineral-coating traps abundant water in aqueous environment and forms a robust hydrated layer on the membrane pore surface, thus endowing the membranes with underwater superoleophobicity. Under the drive of either gravity or external pressure, the hybrid membranes separate a range of oil/water mixtures effectively with high water flux (>2000 L m(-2) h(-1)), perfect oil/water separation efficiency (>99%), high oil breakthrough pressure (>140 kPa) and low oil fouling. The oil/water mixtures include not only free mixtures but also oil-in-water emulsions. Therefore, the mineral-coated membrane enables an efficient and energy-saving separation for various oil/water mixtures, showing attractive potential for practical oil/water separation.
由于工业含油废水不断增加以及频繁发生的石油泄漏事故，油污染水已成为一个全球性问题。在此，我们报道了一种用于有效油水分离的新型超亲水性混合膜。它们是通过在聚丙烯酸接枝的聚丙烯微滤膜上沉积碳酸钙基矿物涂层制备而成。刚性矿物涂层在水性环境中捕获大量水分，并在膜孔表面形成坚固的水合层，从而赋予膜水下超疏油性。在重力或外部压力驱动下，混合膜能够有效地分离一系列油水混合物，具有高水通量（>2000 L m⁻² h⁻¹）、完美的油水分离效率（>99%）、高油突破压力（>140 kPa）和低油污染。油水混合物不仅包括自由混合物，还包括水包油乳液。因此，矿物涂层膜能够对各种油水混合物进行高效节能分离，在实际油水分离中显示出诱人的潜力。
