Comparative Analysis of Treatment Effects of Different Materials on Thin Oil Films

TL;DR

This paper studies materials for efficiently separating thin oil films from water, showing that oil-absorbing sponges perform well under various conditions.

Contribution

The study introduces a high-efficiency oil–water separation membrane with excellent hydrophobic and lipophilic properties for thin oil films.

Findings

The oil-absorbing sponge membrane shows good hydrophobicity and lipophilicity for oil–water separation.

Filtration flux increases with higher pressure and temperature.

The membrane maintains stable performance for 12 months with kerosene and diesel oil.

Abstract

With the continuous and rapid development of global industries, issues such as offshore oil spills, leakage of organic chemicals, and the direct discharge of industrial oily sewage have caused serious damage to the ecological environment and water resources. Efficient oil–water separation is widely recognized as the solution. However, there is an urgent need to address the difficulties in treating thin oil films on the water surface and the low separation efficiency of existing oil–water separation materials. In view of this, this study aims to investigate high-efficiency oil–water separation materials for thin oil films. Four types of oil–water separation materials with different materials are designed to treat thin oil films on the water surface. The effects of factors such as oil film thickness, pressure, and temperature on the oil–water separation performance of these materials are studied. The viscosities of kerosene and diesel oil are tested, and the adsorption and separation effects of the oil–water separation materials on different oil products and oily organic solvents are examined. In addition, the long-term stability of the movable and portable oil–water separation components is verified. The results show that the oil-absorbing sponge-based oil–water separation membrane has an excellent microporous structure and surface roughness, endowing the membrane surface with excellent hydrophobicity and lipophilicity, and exhibiting good oil–water separation performance. The filtration flux of oil increases with the increase in pressure and temperature. It has good adsorption and separation performance for different oil products and oily organic solvents. Moreover, it maintains stable operation performance during the 12-month long-term oil–water separation process for kerosene and diesel oil.

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