Separation of oil-water emulsion by disc ceramic membrane under dynamic membrane filtration mode

The disc ceramic membrane under a dynamic membrane filtration is applied to separate oil-water emulsion. The dynamic membrane filtration means that the membrane is rotating to obtain the flow velocity of membrane surface but the feed solution is almost still. In this case, the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and the flow velocity of membrane surface can be controlled separately. Here, the effects of operation parameters on the separation performance and re-generation of disc ceramic membrane are studied. The membrane fouling and stability and practicability of disc ceramic membrane are evaluated. The results show that the permeate flux of disc ceramic membrane increases with the increment of rotating speed and the rejection increases with the TMP decreases. Furthermore, the rejection efficiency of oil achieved up to >99.9% during a 90 min continuous separation if the TMP was only 0.2 bar. High flow velocity but low TMP of disc ceramic membrane alleviates the membrane fouling caused by concentration polarization layer and gel layer, and reduces the deformation and penetration of oil droplets. This work provides a new method to separate the high-concentration of oil-water emulsion.

Automated summary

This study investigates the application of dynamic membrane filtration using disc ceramic membrane for separating oil-water emulsion. By controlling the trans-membrane pressure and flow velocity of the membrane surface separately, efficient separation and regeneration of the disc ceramic membrane are achieved. The results show that increasing the rotating speed and decreasing the TMP can improve the separation performance of the disc ceramic membrane. Additionally, high flow velocity and low TMP can alleviate membrane fouling and reduce deformation and penetration of oil droplets.