Underwater superoleophobic cement-alumina coated meshes for oil/water and emulsion separation

A novel cement-alumina coated stainless steel mesh (CA@SSM) was fabricated by a simple, economical and green blade coating route. The superhydrophilic-underwater superoleophobic CA@SSM exhibits high efficiency for the separation of water from various oils. The CA@SSM also shows high tolerance to boiling, saline and alkaline water and excellent behavior for separating oil/water mixtures in coarse conditions. Furthermore, the CA@SSM displays excellent capability for separating different oil-in-water emulsions. The CA@SSM is expected to be applied in oily wastewater and oil leakage treatment.

Automated summary

A novel cement-alumina coated stainless steel mesh (CA@SSM) with superhydrophilic-underwater superoleophobic properties was developed, which exhibited high efficiency in separating various oils from water. The CA@SSM also showed excellent tolerance to boiling, saline, and alkaline water, and had great performance in separating oil/water mixtures under coarse conditions. Additionally, the CA@SSM demonstrated remarkable capability in separating different oil-in-water emulsions. It is anticipated that the use of CA@SSM can be beneficial in treating oily wastewater and oil leakage.