Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation
Polymer membranes often face challenges of oil fouling and rapid water flux decline during the separation of oil-in-water emulsions, making them a focal point of ongoing research and development efforts. Coating PVDF membranes with a hydrogel layer equips the developed membranes with robust potentia...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Hasan Ali Hayder Peng Shi Sama M. Al-Jubouri |
| author_facet | Hasan Ali Hayder Peng Shi Sama M. Al-Jubouri |
| author_sort | Hasan Ali Hayder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polymer membranes often face challenges of oil fouling and rapid water flux decline during the separation of oil-in-water emulsions, making them a focal point of ongoing research and development efforts. Coating PVDF membranes with a hydrogel layer equips the developed membranes with robust potential to mitigate oil fouling. However, developing a controllable thickness of a stable hydrogel layer to prevent the blocking of membrane pores remains a critical issue. In this work, atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma was used to prepare the surface of a PVDF membrane to improve its wettability and adhesion properties for coating with a thin hydrophilic film of an AM-NaA copolymer hydrogel. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane exhibited superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties, along with exceptional anti-crude oil-fouling characteristics and a self-cleaning function. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane achieved high separation efficiency, exceeding 99% for various oil-in-water emulsions, with residual oil content in the permeate of less than 10 mg/L after a single-step separation. Additionally, it showed a high-water flux of 5874 L/m<sup>2</sup>·h for crude oil-in-water emulsions. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane showed good stability and easy cleaning by water washing over multiple crude oil-in-water emulsion separation and regeneration cycles. Adding CaCl<sub>2</sub> destabilized emulsions by promoting oil droplet coalescence, further boosting flux. This strategy provides a practical pathway for the development of highly reusable and oil-fouling-resistant membranes for the efficient separation of emulsified oily water. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a975a2e4eff449b9a13ec3058f54cf00 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-a975a2e4eff449b9a13ec3058f54cf002025-08-20T03:27:11ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011512665410.3390/app15126654Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water SeparationHasan Ali Hayder0Peng Shi1Sama M. Al-Jubouri2School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, ChinaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, IraqPolymer membranes often face challenges of oil fouling and rapid water flux decline during the separation of oil-in-water emulsions, making them a focal point of ongoing research and development efforts. Coating PVDF membranes with a hydrogel layer equips the developed membranes with robust potential to mitigate oil fouling. However, developing a controllable thickness of a stable hydrogel layer to prevent the blocking of membrane pores remains a critical issue. In this work, atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma was used to prepare the surface of a PVDF membrane to improve its wettability and adhesion properties for coating with a thin hydrophilic film of an AM-NaA copolymer hydrogel. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane exhibited superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties, along with exceptional anti-crude oil-fouling characteristics and a self-cleaning function. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane achieved high separation efficiency, exceeding 99% for various oil-in-water emulsions, with residual oil content in the permeate of less than 10 mg/L after a single-step separation. Additionally, it showed a high-water flux of 5874 L/m<sup>2</sup>·h for crude oil-in-water emulsions. The AM-NaA/PVDF membrane showed good stability and easy cleaning by water washing over multiple crude oil-in-water emulsion separation and regeneration cycles. Adding CaCl<sub>2</sub> destabilized emulsions by promoting oil droplet coalescence, further boosting flux. This strategy provides a practical pathway for the development of highly reusable and oil-fouling-resistant membranes for the efficient separation of emulsified oily water.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6654surface modificationPVDF membraneplasma treatmentcopolymer hydrogelantifoulingdemulsification |
| spellingShingle | Hasan Ali Hayder Peng Shi Sama M. Al-Jubouri Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation Applied Sciences surface modification PVDF membrane plasma treatment copolymer hydrogel antifouling demulsification |
| title | Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation |
| title_full | Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation |
| title_fullStr | Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation |
| title_short | Developing a Superhydrophilic/Underwater Superoleophobic Plasma-Modified PVDF Microfiltration Membrane with Copolymer Hydrogels for Oily Water Separation |
| title_sort | developing a superhydrophilic underwater superoleophobic plasma modified pvdf microfiltration membrane with copolymer hydrogels for oily water separation |
| topic | surface modification PVDF membrane plasma treatment copolymer hydrogel antifouling demulsification |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6654 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hasanalihayder developingasuperhydrophilicunderwatersuperoleophobicplasmamodifiedpvdfmicrofiltrationmembranewithcopolymerhydrogelsforoilywaterseparation AT pengshi developingasuperhydrophilicunderwatersuperoleophobicplasmamodifiedpvdfmicrofiltrationmembranewithcopolymerhydrogelsforoilywaterseparation AT samamaljubouri developingasuperhydrophilicunderwatersuperoleophobicplasmamodifiedpvdfmicrofiltrationmembranewithcopolymerhydrogelsforoilywaterseparation |