Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water

Oily wastewater is extensively generated during the petroleum extraction and refining processes, as crude oil production water and from the effluent systems in petrochemical enterprises. The discharge standards for such wastewater are stringent, with the Oslo–Paris Convention stipulating that the oi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tao Yang, Hao Xiao, Chunyu Jiang, Ming Ma, Guangwen Zhang, Chun Wang, Yi Zheng, Xiangdi Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Separations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/174
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850071957024800768
author Tao Yang
Hao Xiao
Chunyu Jiang
Ming Ma
Guangwen Zhang
Chun Wang
Yi Zheng
Xiangdi Zhao
author_facet Tao Yang
Hao Xiao
Chunyu Jiang
Ming Ma
Guangwen Zhang
Chun Wang
Yi Zheng
Xiangdi Zhao
author_sort Tao Yang
collection DOAJ
description Oily wastewater is extensively generated during the petroleum extraction and refining processes, as crude oil production water and from the effluent systems in petrochemical enterprises. The discharge standards for such wastewater are stringent, with the Oslo–Paris Convention stipulating that the oil content must be below 30 mg/L for permissible discharge. Flotation, a conventional oil–water separation method, relies on the collision and adhesion of rising bubbles with oil droplets in water to form low-density aggregates that float to the surface for separation. The collision and adhesion mechanisms between bubbles and oil droplets are fundamental to this process. However, systematic studies on their interactions remain scarce. This study employs the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory to analyze the three mechanical interactions during the collision–adhesion process theoretically and investigates the heterogeneous interaction dynamics experimentally. Furthermore, given the diverse liquid-phase environments of oily wastewater, the effects of salinity, pH, and surfactant concentration are decoupled and individually explored to clarify their underlying mechanisms. Finally, a solution is proposed to enhance the flotation efficiency fundamentally. This work systematically elucidates the influence of liquid-phase environments on the adhesion behavior for the first time through the unification of theoretical and experimental approaches. The findings provide critical insights for advancing flotation theory and guiding the development of novel coagulants.
format Article
id doaj-art-e44946c843fc4be5b765f4574b4a20ff
institution DOAJ
issn 2297-8739
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Separations
spelling doaj-art-e44946c843fc4be5b765f4574b4a20ff2025-08-20T02:47:10ZengMDPI AGSeparations2297-87392025-06-0112717410.3390/separations12070174Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in WaterTao Yang0Hao Xiao1Chunyu Jiang2Ming Ma3Guangwen Zhang4Chun Wang5Yi Zheng6Xiangdi Zhao7State Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266000, ChinaOily wastewater is extensively generated during the petroleum extraction and refining processes, as crude oil production water and from the effluent systems in petrochemical enterprises. The discharge standards for such wastewater are stringent, with the Oslo–Paris Convention stipulating that the oil content must be below 30 mg/L for permissible discharge. Flotation, a conventional oil–water separation method, relies on the collision and adhesion of rising bubbles with oil droplets in water to form low-density aggregates that float to the surface for separation. The collision and adhesion mechanisms between bubbles and oil droplets are fundamental to this process. However, systematic studies on their interactions remain scarce. This study employs the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory to analyze the three mechanical interactions during the collision–adhesion process theoretically and investigates the heterogeneous interaction dynamics experimentally. Furthermore, given the diverse liquid-phase environments of oily wastewater, the effects of salinity, pH, and surfactant concentration are decoupled and individually explored to clarify their underlying mechanisms. Finally, a solution is proposed to enhance the flotation efficiency fundamentally. This work systematically elucidates the influence of liquid-phase environments on the adhesion behavior for the first time through the unification of theoretical and experimental approaches. The findings provide critical insights for advancing flotation theory and guiding the development of novel coagulants.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/174oil–water separationextended DLVO theoryheterogeneous interactioninduction time
spellingShingle Tao Yang
Hao Xiao
Chunyu Jiang
Ming Ma
Guangwen Zhang
Chun Wang
Yi Zheng
Xiangdi Zhao
Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
Separations
oil–water separation
extended DLVO theory
heterogeneous interaction
induction time
title Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
title_full Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
title_fullStr Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
title_full_unstemmed Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
title_short Heterogeneous Interactions During Bubble–Oil Droplet Contact in Water
title_sort heterogeneous interactions during bubble oil droplet contact in water
topic oil–water separation
extended DLVO theory
heterogeneous interaction
induction time
url https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/174
work_keys_str_mv AT taoyang heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT haoxiao heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT chunyujiang heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT mingma heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT guangwenzhang heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT chunwang heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT yizheng heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater
AT xiangdizhao heterogeneousinteractionsduringbubbleoildropletcontactinwater