Polyacrylamide-Polydivinylbenzene Decorated Membrane for Sundry Ionic Stabilized Emulsions Separation via a Facile...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Stabilized oil-in-water emulsions pose a significant global challenge for water treatment and resource recovery.
• Existing separation methods often struggle with highly stable emulsions or lack scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel membrane for efficient and scalable separation of various stabilized oil-in-water emulsions.
• To investigate the performance of a polyacrylamide (PAM) and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDVB) decorated nylon membrane.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a PAM-PDVB decorated nylon membrane using a facile solvothermal route.
• Characterization of the membrane's superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties.
• Testing the membrane's separation efficiency for cationic, nonionic, and anionic stabilized oil-in-water emulsions.

Main Results:

• The PAM-PDVB decorated nylon membrane demonstrated high separation efficiency (above 99%) for diverse and highly stable oil-in-water emulsions.
• The membrane exhibited excellent pH stability and recyclability.
• The solvothermal fabrication method was found to be facile, cost-saving, and environmentally friendly.

Conclusions:

• The developed PAM-PDVB decorated nylon membrane offers a promising solution for the challenging separation of stabilized oil-in-water emulsions.
• The membrane's properties and the fabrication method support its potential for practical industrial scale-up and application.