Membranes for Oil/Water Separation: A Review

• Published in: Advanced materials interfaces Vol. 9; no. 27
• Main Authors: Mousa, Hamouda M., Fahmy, Hanan S., Ali, Gomaa A. M., Abdelhamid, Hani Nasser, Ateia, Mohamed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany John Wiley & Sons, Inc 22.09.2022
• Subjects: antifouling; Mechanical properties; membrane design; membrane materials; membrane technologies; Membranes; Multilayers; Nanocomposites; oil/water separation; Separation; Wettability; membrane design; membrane materials; membrane technologies; oil/water separation; antifouling
• ISSN: 2196-7350; 2196-7350
• DOI: 10.1002/admi.202200557

Recent advancements in separation and membrane technologies have shown a great potential in removing oil from wastewaters effectively. In addition, the capabilities have improved to fabricate membranes with tunable properties in terms of their wettability, permeability, antifouling, and mechanical properties that govern the treatment of oily wastewaters. Herein, authors have critically reviewed the literature on membrane technology for oil/water separation with a specific focus on: 1) membrane properties and characterization, 2) development of various materials (e.g., organic, inorganic, and hybrid membranes, and innovative materials), 3) membranes design (e.g., mixed matrix nanocomposite and multilayers), and 4) membrane fabrication techniques and surface modification techniques. The current challenges and future research directions in materials and fabrication techniques for membrane technology applications in oil/water separation are also highlighted. Thus, this review provides helpful guidance toward finding more effective, practical, and scalable solutions to tackle environmental pollution by oils. This article critically reviews three main aspects covering the recent progress on the use of membrane technology for oil/water separation. First aspect is membrane properties such as wettability, antifouling, permeability, flux, and mechanical properties. Second, the most common membrane materials, design, smart membrane, techniques, and surface modification are discussed. The last aspect covers the progress in membrane devices over the past 20 years.